Town file
Early, Iowa
Early, Iowa (Sac County, Iowa) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 687, "Cold Blooded "Hero"" (2 April 2026). Early, Iowa, is a small town of a few hundred people in Boyer Township, Sac County, in western Iowa, about two hours from Omaha, Nebraska, and two hours from Des Moines.
- Town
- Early
- County
- Sac County
- State
- Iowa
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 687
- Approximate location
- 42.461, -95.152
Episode 687 / 2 April 2026 / 183 min / full
Cold Blooded "Hero"
"We're going to Early, Iowa ... it's inside Boyer Township ... this is in Sac County" about 0:06:09
The case: Murder of Dustin Weedy (December 13th, 2001). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2026
- Population
- 587
- Median age
- 43.8
- Median household income
- $78,210
- Median home value
- $123,500
- Cost of living
- 73
- Religious
- 74.4%
- Property crime
- ▼ about half of the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one quarter below the national average
History, in brief
- Early was incorporated in 1883 and named after Judge D. Carr Early, a local settler. about 0:07:40
- A blacksmith looking for a place to open a shop was advised to build on the judge's 40 acres about two and a half miles south of where downtown Early is now. about 0:08:15
- The judge donated 10 acres of the 40, offering to sell the other 30. about 0:08:24
- The town was recorded in 1878 and given the name Early in the judge's honour. about 0:08:33
- In the beginning it was a tiny town whose main landmark was the big tree corner. about 0:08:44
- The original town stood a little south of the present site and shifted towards the railroad; the new town of the 1880s had houses, a post office, a railroad depot, a blacksmith, a meat market and a barber shop. about 0:09:21
- Nothing much has changed in the town since the 1880s. about 0:09:38
The reviews read out
1 star
"There is nothing here; the local restaurant shut down and the gas stations are no longer open 24 hours; there are only crackheads and rich old white people, nothing in between."about 0:10:28
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Lyons, Nebraska77 miles
- Emerson, Nebraska81 miles
- Forest City, Iowa94 miles
- Norwalk, Iowa101 miles
- Yutan, Nebraska106 miles
- Tea, South Dakota109 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.