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Delve into heartland crime cases, rural film venues, pioneering farm history, and strange corn?country tales.
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37 mapped locations are listed for this state. Sign in to Trip Planner to keep a saved list, build a route, and make your own custom map from these places.
Open Trip PlannerThe Disappearance Johnny Gosch, a 12-year-old paperboy, vanished on September 5, 1982, while delivering the Des Moines Sunday Register in West Des Moines, Iowa. He left home between 6-7 am on that warm Sunday morning with his canvas delivery bag and red wagon. His abandoned wagon was later discovered at the corner of 42nd Street…
In an age of GPS, smartphones, and instant gratification, it’s easy to forget the power of sheer will, simplicity, and reconciliation. But in 1994, Alvin Straight—an elderly man from Laurens, Iowa—reminded the world that sometimes, the slowest journeys leave the deepest impact. At 73 years old, Alvin wasn’t what you’d call spry. He had poor…
On the night of July 21, 1873, Jesse James and his gang committed the first successful train robbery in the American West near Adair, Iowa. They derailed a Rock Island Railroad train by removing a section of track, causing a deadly crash that killed the engineer. Armed and masked, the gang boarded the wreckage, held…
In 1992, around 7 p.m. on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, at least 40 people packed the Drake Diner in Des Moines as a line trailed out the front door into the cool, drizzly night. A man wearing a hooded sweatshirt rushed passed the crowd and grabbed the manager, Cara McGrane, 25, by the neck. The…
Edward Kriz, 43 — a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army — was shot outside the Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City on November 10, 1962, when he startled a would-be robber. After closing George’s Buffet early on November 10, 1962, owner Edward Kriz, his wife Bernice, and a bartender…
Paul Dedrick Gray, better known simply as Paul Gray, was the bassist and founding member of the popular metal band Slipknot. On May 24, 2010, tragically, Gray was found dead in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa. He was only 38 years old. The cause of Gray’s death was determined to be an accidental overdose…
June 11, 2021 Super 8 Motel – Location: 5900 Sutton Pl, Urbandale, IA 50322Rachel Reuter checked into the Super 8 Motel. There is video of both Rachel Reuter and James Klever at the hotel. Reuter was also in contact with the Des Moines Police Department on this day. It is not known why she was…
Jodi Huisentruit was a television news anchor from Mason City, Iowa, who disappeared on her way to work on June 27, 1995. Her case garnered national attention and has remained unsolved. Huisentruit was declared legally dead in 2001. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance, including the discovery of personal items scattered near her apartment building, have…
The Iowa City Sueppel murders were a family annihilation. Steven Stepper, a 42-year-old former banker, committed them. He did this at his residence in Iowa City, Iowa, USA. It happened on Easter Sunday night, March 23, 2008. On Monday morning at 6:31 a.m., Sueppel called 9-1-1 from his mobile phone. He requested that police visit his house right away. He then hung up without identifying…
Ashley Okland, a 27-year-old Iowa Realty agent, was shot twice and killed shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2011, while working inside a West Des Moines model townhouse. A Rottlund Homes employee heard a commotion inside the model townhouse at 558 Stone Creek Court — part of the Stone Creek Villas subdivision near…
Dexfield Park is an abandoned amusement park located in Dexter, Iowa. It opened in 1915 and was once a major attraction for residents and visitors in the area. The park featured standard amusement rides, picnic areas, a dance pavilion, and other recreational activities. It had a significant regional following during its peak years. One of…
In the summer of 1970, Cedar Rapids resident Paula Jean Oberbroeckling was 18 years old. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, and she worked with developmentally disabled children and at Younker’s Department Store. One night in July, she went on a date with her boyfriend Lonnie Bell, and when they returned home, they…
Rocky Marciano, the legendary undefeated heavyweight boxing champion, tragically died in a plane crash on August 31, 1969. The small private aircraft, a Cessna 172, registration N3149X, encountered stormy weather conditions and crashed in Iowa, claiming the lives of all three occupants on board. The sports world mourned the loss of a true icon, whose…
Michelle Marie Martinko was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on October 6, 1961. She was the younger of two daughters of Albert F. Martinko and Janet Martinko (nee Zillig). Michelle attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, where she was considered an above-average student and highly respected by school officials. She was known for her talent…
On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson tragically lost their lives in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. This event, immortalized as “The Day the Music Died” by Don McLean in his song “American Pie,” marked a significant and somber moment in music…
The Villisca ax murders were a series of unsolved homicides that occurred in 1912 in the town of Villisca, Iowa. The gruesome event took place during the night of June 9-10, when six members of the Moore family and two houseguests were found bludgeoned to death with an axe. The victims included Josiah and Sarah…
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