Town file
Minot, North Dakota
Minot, North Dakota (Ward County, North Dakota) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 361, "A Killer Conspiracy" (9 February 2023). Minot sits in Ward County in north-central North Dakota, close to the Canadian border and about four hours and twenty minutes from Fargo.
- Town
- Minot
- County
- Ward County
- State
- North Dakota
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 361
- Approximate location
- 48.236, -101.278
Episode 361 / 9 February 2023 / 163 min / full
A Killer Conspiracy
"we are going up to Minot, North Dakota, and it is in Ward County" about 0:04:44
The case: Murder of Angela Wilder (November 13, 2015). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 47,423
- Median age
- 31.8
- Median household income
- $57,248
- Median home value
- $198,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $958
- Cost of living
- about 85
- Religious
- 55%
- Property crime
- ▲ slightly above average
- Violent crime
- right at average
History, in brief
- The town grew up in 1886 when the railroad was laid through the area, and it was nicknamed the Magic City because it seemed to spring up overnight. about 0:07:14
- The population rose from nothing to over 5,000 within the first few months of the town existing. about 0:07:33
- The railroad chose the town site on land belonging to Eric Romstad and made him one of the town fathers in exchange. about 0:07:45
- Minot was named after Henry D. Minot, a railroad investor and ornithologist. about 0:08:54
- For its first 50 years the town was dangerous and was called the crime capital of North Dakota. about 0:09:23
- State attorney general William Langer cleaned the town up between 1917 and 1920. about 0:09:49
- Prohibition turned Minot into a centre of illegal activity and a supply hub for liquor and smuggling from Canada, with Al Capone's gang collecting from there. about 0:09:57
- It became a hotbed of bootlegging, prostitution and opium dens and was known as Little Chicago. about 0:10:42
- Smugglers used a network of tunnels, many built earlier for heating or deliveries, to move and conceal cargo from Canada. about 0:11:13
- On July 22, 1920 a tornado three miles south-east of town picked up Andy Bots's house, killing his wife, breaking his shoulder and injuring both his children. about 0:11:24
- Josh Duhamel is from Minot, and the town also claims Wiz Khalifa. about 0:12:09
The reviews read out
5 stars
"The reviewer cannot answer any of the questions honestly because they have not even moved into the neighbourhood yet."about 0:13:36
4 stars
"For a small town it has its beauty and advantages, with no big-city rush and friendly people, though summer construction, long cold winters and boredom await anyone who will not explore."about 0:13:58
3 stars
"It is very secluded, eight hours from a large metro area, expensive and time-consuming to travel out of state, fine for families but with little for young adults and singles, cliquey and hard for anyone who is not straight and white, and violent crime is rare."about 0:15:54
1 star
"There is no tourist information to complain to and the reviewer will never set foot in the god-forsaken town again unless their son's life is in danger, oil workers and the base notwithstanding."about 0:17:15
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Bismarck, North Dakota101 miles
- Menoken, North Dakota104 miles
- Dickinson, North Dakota117 miles
- Sidney, Montana138 miles
- Cooperstown, North Dakota156 miles
- Lemmon, South Dakota164 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.