FILE 561 / 9 January 2025 / 174 MIN / full

Losing Streak

Blooming Prairie, MinnesotaListen

The town

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James: 'This is Blooming Prairie, Minnesota' in southern Minnesota, in Steele County, edging into Dodge County, about an hour and twenty minutes from Minneapolis about 0:04:14

History, in brief

Town note

The town's motto is 'A great place to spend the next hundred years'.

about 0:05:02

Town note

The town is in Steele County, edging over into Dodge County, area code 507, about an hour and twenty minutes from Minneapolis.

about 0:04:41

1868

The town started in 1868 and took the name of the surrounding Blooming Prairie township, dropping the word township.

about 0:05:18

1917

Before Prohibition, the town's position near the intersection of several counties made it a place to stop and buy alcohol; in 1917 Steele County was the only one of the four around it (Mower, Freeborn, Dodge and Steele) where alcohol could be sold.

about 0:05:43
All 7 history facts

Town note

The town's motto is 'A great place to spend the next hundred years'.

about 0:05:02

Town note

The town is in Steele County, edging over into Dodge County, area code 507, about an hour and twenty minutes from Minneapolis.

about 0:04:41

1868

The town started in 1868 and took the name of the surrounding Blooming Prairie township, dropping the word township.

about 0:05:18

1917

Before Prohibition, the town's position near the intersection of several counties made it a place to stop and buy alcohol; in 1917 Steele County was the only one of the four around it (Mower, Freeborn, Dodge and Steele) where alcohol could be sold.

about 0:05:43

Town note

During Prohibition several tunnels were dug under the businesses on Main Street to make and move moonshine out of sight.

about 0:06:03

Town note

The town holds an annual old-fashioned Fourth of July; the most recent was the 49th, with a 5K race, parade, tractor pull, street dance and beer gardens.

about 0:14:17

Town note

The town has a State School Orphanage Museum, where children dress as orphans and there are tours and a genealogy research assistant.

about 0:17:21

The figures, as told

Religious

72.3%

about 0:08:33

Who lives here

White 92.8% · Black 0.3% · Hispanic 6.7%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about one quarter

about 0:18:30

Violent crime
▼ about one third

about 0:18:40

Money

Median home value$212,800
Two-bedroom rent$990
Median household income$57,625
Cost of living83

For sale

$84,900

Listing: four bed, three bath, 1,710 sq ft house (run-down)

about 0:11:30

For sale

$199,900

Listing: four bed, two bath, 2,160 sq ft house

about 0:12:10

For sale

$89,900

Listing: three bed, two bath, 1,734 sq ft house built 1890

about 0:13:04
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population

"2,074"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:07:45

Median age

"36 and a half"

Comparison: "usually about 37 (national average)". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:07:59

Married

"about 50-50 married"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:00

Two or more races

"0.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:13

Religious

"72.3%"

Comparison: "'Utah numbers', very high". Direction: above.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:33

Largest faith

"Lutheran"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:39

Unemployment rate

"a little under five percent"

Comparison: "about the national average". Direction: about the same.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:56

Household income

"$57,625"

Comparison: "about $69,000 nationally". No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:08:59

Cost of living index

"83"

Comparison: "100 is regular". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:09:14

Median home cost

"$212,800"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:09:19

Average two-bedroom rent

"$990"

Comparison: "about $300 under the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:10:15

Listing: four bed, three bath, 1,710 sq ft house (run-down)

"$84,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:11:30

Listing: four bed, two bath, 2,160 sq ft house

"$199,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:12:10

Listing: three bed, two bath, 1,734 sq ft house built 1890

"$89,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:13:04

Property crime

"about one quarter"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:18:30

Violent crime

"about one third"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:18:40

The reviews

5.0 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“All the people are kind, there is a strong sense of community and everyone looks out for one another; a small town that has everything you need.”
about 0:06:45

5 stars

“Likes living there: knows everyone and everyone knows them; a friendly town where news gets around fast.”
about 0:07:04

5 stars

“Amazing little town with a park, a small pool, small class sizes meaning more one-on-one time, and a small gym.”
about 0:07:19

In Minnesota

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The story

Dave Reese was born in Rochester, Minnesota on 24 April 1963 and graduated from Mayo High School in 1981. He served in the Navy from 1981 to 1985, based in San Diego and later Guam, and met his friend Denny while laying carpet as a favour. They shared a love of fishing, rented a trailer on the Mississippi as a fishing base and appeared on ESPN in a tournament in the 1980s. She was the fourth of five children from Rochester; her father was an IBM engineer and her mother a severe hoarder who was later committed to a state hospital. The couple had three children in four years.

In 2005 they moved to Blooming Prairie so Dave could open a waxworm farm. It grew into a business with employees, delivering bait to Walmart, Kwik Trip and bait shops across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. On 16 February 2006 a fire, probably from wiring Dave had done himself, destroyed their home. The town raised money and they rebuilt on the same lot.

From 2012 she controlled the finances of her sister Kim, who had been placed in adult foster care after a breakdown in 2010, and gambled away much of Kim's inheritance. In 2016 she overdosed on pills and was found by Dave, then airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester. In July 2016 she disappeared for three days.

Replies to text messages used proper punctuation, unlike Dave's usual dictated texts. On 22 March staff called the police, and on the night of Friday 23 March officers found Dave dead on the bathroom floor under a blanket, shot twice with a .22, once in the chest through his forearm and once in the back, dead for about ten days. On 23 March she was at the Diamond Joe, and law enforcement who tracked her phone arrived the next day to find she had gone.

Tess recognised her and called 911, but Lee County deputies concluded she was long gone. On 3 April Pam Hutchinson, 59, recently divorced and about to buy a condo in Bradenton, checked into condo 404 at Marina Village at Snug Harbor. On 5 April the two dined there again. Cameras place the woman at the condo at 7.46 p.m. and at the elevator at 8.34 p.m. Pam was shot twice with a .22 in the bathroom, covered with towels, with the thermostat turned down. Her cards, car, keys and valuables were taken.

On 9 April the manager, Lori Russell, found the body. The Acura was spotted near Refugio, Texas on 8 April. The US Marshals made it a major case and a $6,000 reward was offered.

Searches turned up a Colt Woodsman .22, a Smith and Wesson 9mm, bullets, a holster, duct tape, gloves, Pam's sunglasses and cards.

Family gave impact statements. She later told an HBO documentary, I'm Not a Monster, that she had snapped and claimed years of abuse, and she is held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee.

The case

Murder of David Reese

Victims

David 'Dave' Reese (54). Born 24 April 1963 in Rochester, Minnesota; former Navy man who ran a waxworm bait farm and was well liked in town

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 9 January 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Denny Clark. Dave's fishing friend since the Navy years
Tess and Rod Koster. couple who were friends of the Reeses; owned a car dealership in Blooming Prairie and rental units on Fort Myers Beach
Kim. oldest sister, whom took guardianship of and stole from
Cindy. other older sister, who ran over her son in 2019 and hanged herself in August 2019
Bill. eldest son
Braden. youngest son, interviewed by Inside Edition
Scott Carlson. close friend of Dave who said did some oddball stuff
Scott Rose. Dodge County sheriff

The timeline

  1. April 24th, 1963 Dave Reese is born in Rochester, Minnesotaabout 0:19:50
  2. 1981 Dave graduates from Mayo High School and enlists in the Navy (1981 to 1985), stationed in San Diego (Mayo High School)about 0:20:41
  3. September 17th, 1982 Dave (19) marries (20)about 0:25:49
  4. the following four years The couple have three children; Dave is later stationed in Guam, then the family returns to Rochester where he works at Krenlow and opens the Bait Boxabout 0:28:29
  5. 2005 The family moves to Blooming Prairie so Dave can run a waxworm farm (Reese home and waxworm farm)about 0:32:01
  6. February 16th, 2006 A fire, thought to be faulty wiring Dave had done, destroys the Reese home; the town takes up a collection and they rebuild on the same lot (Reese home and waxworm farm)about 0:36:11
  7. October 2010 sister Kim has a breakdown after her marriage ends and lives with the Reeses before going into adult foster careabout 1:11:15
  8. February 2012 applies to be Kim's legal guardian and conservator and is given control of her finances, including a $200,000 inheritanceabout 1:11:47
  9. around 2014 stops running the daycare; she gambles money meant for interring her father's ashes and a half-million-dollar inheritanceabout 1:08:32
  10. 2016 Dave finds unconscious after a deliberate pill overdose; she is airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester and recovers after almost two weeks (St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester)about 1:17:04
  11. July 2016 disappears for three days after Dave finds new debts; he reports her missing and she says she was visiting a friend in Minneapolisabout 1:21:07

Murder of Pamela Hutchinson

Victims

Pamela 'Pam' Hutchinson (59). Recently divorced former top-ranked car salesperson from Virginia Beach, living in Bradenton, Florida; resembled

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 9 January 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Tess Koster. Minnesota friend of the Reeses who saw at her Fort Myers Beach rental and called 911
Donna Fetro. Pam's friend whose husband had died and who was scattering his ashes
Lori Russell. Marina Village manager who found the body
Kathy Laffordy. owner of Padre Rita's Grill on South Padre Island
Bernadette Mathis. court reporter befriended by on South Padre Island and thought to be a planned third victim
Isabel Barrero. woman befriended at the Motel 6
George Higginbotham. Dirty Al's manager who recognised
Ellen Brit Watts. Pam's cousin

The timeline

  1. April 2nd, 2018, about 1.45 p.m. , using a phone bought under the name Stormy Liberty, turns up at Tess Koster's Fort Myers Beach rental, says 'wrong house' and drives off in the white Escalade; Tess calls 911 and Lee County deputies, after an hour and a half, say she is probably long gone (Koster rental, Fort Myers Beach)about 1:30:42
  2. April 3rd, 2018 Pam Hutchinson arrives at Fort Myers Beach and checks into condo 404 at Marina Village at Snug Harbor (Marina Village at Snug Harbor)about 1:32:56
  3. Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 Pam meets , who says she has been widowed; they drink for three hours at the Smoking Oyster Brewery and stays the night at the condo (Smoking Oyster Brewery)about 1:40:13
  4. Thursday, April 5th, 2018 Pam postpones leaving and has dinner and drinks with at the Smoke and Oyster; at 7.37 p.m. she pays the bill (Smoking Oyster Brewery)about 1:41:10
  5. April 5th, 2018, between 7.46 and 8.34 p.m. Cameras show the woman approaching the condo at 7.46 p.m. and standing distraught at the fourth floor elevator at 8.34 p.m.; Pam is shot twice with a .22 in the bathroom and covered with towels (Marina Village at Snug Harbor)about 1:51:53

Last meals

  • Pam Hutchinson. A half pound of peel and eat shrimp, a side of chard (as heard) and a small chowder, with a Long Island iced tea, a watermelon margarita, a sweet tea, a Bloody Mary and a Bahama Mama bill paid at 7.37 p.m. at the Smoke and Oyster on 5 April 2018, hours before she was killedabout 1:43:02

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode