Town file
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck, North Dakota is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 412, "The Bloody Basement Breakfast Club" (5 August 2023). Gordon Kent Erickstad was born in 1945 in Devils Lake, North Dakota.
- Town
- Bismarck
- State
- North Dakota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 412
- Approximate location
- 46.815, -100.770
Episode 412 / 5 August 2023 / 71 min / express
The Bloody Basement Breakfast Club
"We're going to Bismarck, North Dakota... it's the capital of North Dakota... in southern North Dakota." about 0:03:36
The case: Murders of Gordon and Barbara Erickstad (September 16-17, 1998). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 73,321
- Median household income
- $57,660
- Median home value
- $318,500
History, in brief
- Lewis and Clark travelled through this area, following the Missouri River as far as they could by boat. about 0:04:51
- The area was a Mandan Indian settlement before other towns came in. about 0:04:55
- Edwin Ferry Johnson, a Northern Pacific railway man, had the place called Edwinton after him for a while. about 0:05:02
- In 1873 the railway named the city Bismarck in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. about 0:05:41
- The naming was intended to attract German immigrants and German investment in the railroad. about 0:05:53
- Bismarck is the only US state capital named for a foreign statesman. about 0:06:14
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A resident loves the simple town that has become her home, full of the friendliest people she has ever met, many of them friends and family; the rolling hills, farmland and natural resources make it a place that produces much and consumes little."about 0:06:28
3 stars
"If you want to be an everyday person this is the perfect city; if you are afraid of death you will be comfy here, because there is little to do beyond work, school, practice, dinner and sleep."about 0:07:19
2 stars
"Most kids turn to alcohol and drugs in middle school for lack of things to do; people are closed minded, stagnant and hostile to growth, the food is bland and will give you diarrhoea, everything closes early on Sundays, and the religious people are hypocrites who frequent bars."about 0:08:03
2 stars
"I do not like this town."about 0:09:03
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Menoken, North Dakota11 miles
- Lemmon, South Dakota90 miles
- Dickinson, North Dakota96 miles
- Minot, North Dakota101 miles
- Valley City, North Dakota131 miles
- Cooperstown, North Dakota132 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.