One of the stranger things to happen recently was being interviewed for a true crime podcast connected to a historic hockey rink and a story that traces all the way back to the Midwest communities I grew up around.
The podcast, The Bagpiper and His Brother, is the latest season of Dakota Spotlight, produced by James Wolner. On the surface, it’s a true crime story about two brothers from North Dakota whose lives slowly spiral into increasingly bizarre and serious crimes, eventually leading to a 1971 bombing in South Dakota.
But like a lot of good long-form storytelling, it becomes about much more than the crime itself.
As the series unfolds, you realize these weren’t stereotypical movie villains. They were people who, outwardly at least, lived fairly normal Midwestern lives. One was a respected engineer in Minnesota. The other owned a business in Illinois. Hockey rinks, neighborhoods, community connections, family reputations — all the ordinary things existed right alongside a much darker story.
That’s part of what makes it unsettling.
Growing up around hockey culture in Edina and later building Hockey Finder, I ended up connected to parts of the broader story and was interviewed for the series. It became one of those moments where you realize how small certain worlds really are. You never know which people, places, or memories will reconnect decades later in completely unexpected ways.
What struck me most while listening was how many hidden stories surround places we think we know well.
A rink is never just a rink.
A neighborhood is never just a neighborhood.
A quiet Midwestern family is sometimes carrying a story no one else can see.
That’s probably part of why podcasts like this resonate right now. They remind us that history isn’t only found in museums or headlines. Sometimes it’s hiding in local rinks, old parking lots, small towns, and conversations people almost forgot to have.
Not exactly the type of thing I expected to write about on a travel blog.
But then again, Good Grief Travel has never really only been about travel.
Give it a listen:
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