Who Killed Joseph Anderson? The Unsolved Jamestown Murder

Dakota Spotlight: True Crime & Cold Case Investigations

James Wolner

Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime

4.8 • 900 Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In September 1991, Joseph “Joe” Anderson, a millionaire cattleman, was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in Jamestown, North Dakota. His body was discovered in the trunk of his own Buick at the Gladstone Inn parking lot, sparking one of the city’s most troubling cold cases. More than three decades later, the murder of Joe Anderson remains unsolved, with lingering questions about who wanted him dead and why justice has never been served in this small town mystery. If you have information about the murder of Joseph “Joe” Anderson, please contact the Jamestown Police Department at 701-252-2414 or the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 701-328-5500. Produced by James Wolner. Research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	True Story Media
0:05.4	Hey there, it's James. Don't like ads. I hear you. As an independent podcast, ads help me to keep going.
0:14.7	But with Spotlight Plus, you can skip them and get early accessed episodes and unlock bonus content.
0:20.4	Subscribe for just $5 a month with no long-term commitment at DakotaSpotlight.com or write
0:25.7	in your Apple or Spotify app.
0:34.7	You're listening to Dakota Spotlight.
0:36.8	My name is James Wollner. In today's cold case snapshot,
0:40.3	they said he wasn't stabbed. They said he wasn't strangled. They said he wasn't shot.
0:47.3	So how did millionaire cattleman, Joe Anderson, a man with money, with power, maybe with enemies, end up dead, stuffed in the trunk of his own car in the quiet heart of Jamestown, North Dakota.
1:05.3	The 33rd annual Ducks Unlimited Banquet. Social hour begins at 5.30 p.m. And the prime rib dinner will be served at 70.
1:12.2	Hay Buster presents the latest in the Bailbuster line,
1:15.6	designed to feed and bed today's bails.
1:18.5	The 2660 and the 26th.
1:20.6	When your travels bring you to Jamestown,
1:23.0	make sure you're staying at the Gladstone Inn and Suites Conference Center.
1:27.0	We're centrally located,
1:28.5	offering convenient access to all that Buffalo City has to offer. We also have to be a lot of Let's rewind to Monday, September 16, 1991. In movie theaters around the country, Terminator 2 is selling a lot of tickets. Magic Johnson is still playing for the Lakers. The Gulf War ended a few months back, and a lot of people are glued to their TV sets watching Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
2:19.4	And Nirvana has just released a single that's about to dominate the airwaves.
2:24.1	The songs called Smells Like Teen Spirit.
2:27.3	But in Jamestown, North Dakota, a very different odor is about to make itself known.
2:33.2	Something dark and mysterious is unfolding.
2:36.9	And it all starts with a car parked at a hotel. The hotel is the Gladstone Inn. The car, a
	...

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