FindJodi, Inc.

07/12/2026

"A Fuller Picture of Jodi"

For 31 years, Jodi Huisentruit has been known as the missing Mason City, Iowa news anchor. But that headline is only one moment in a much fuller life.

That's why we've shared photo spreads like her Long Prairie childhood and her years of international travel. We want people to see Jodi as she really was: a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a colleague, a person with a whole life before June 27, 1995.

Somewhere out there, someone knows what happened to Jodi that morning in the Key Apartments parking lot.

If that's you, we hope seeing her this way, as a full person and not just a headline, is what finally moves you to come forward. Jodi's family has waited decades for answers.

If you know something, anything, please reach out to the Mason City Police Department, Iowa DCI, or FindJodi.
Mason City Police Department: (641) 421-3636
Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman: [email protected]

Or contact us at FindJodi.com

07/11/2026

"Jodi Huisentruit's Long Prairie Years"

One of our key goals we often mention at FindJodi is to help bring Jodi Huisentruit home to Long Prairie, Minnesota. That’s where she spent her first 18 years, over two thirds of her life.

Long Prairie is a small community in the north central part of the state, about 125 miles from the Twin Cities and a four hour or so drive from Mason City, Iowa, where Jodi disappeared on her way to anchor the morning news at KIMT-TV.

Jodi was the youngest of three daughters of Imogene “Jane” and Maurice Huisentruit. Sadly, Jodi’s dad passed away when she was just 13.

Here are some photos from Jodi’s life in her hometown, long before she became known as the “missing Mason City, Iowa news anchor."

It's where Jodi developed her athletic side and passion for golf when she was in third grade. In high school, she was twice on her school's golf team that won the state championship. Jodi was making the news back then for her sporting skills.

(Check out memories in comments from her beloved golf coach, John Stefanich.)

If you grew up in Long Prairie or knew Jodi during these years, we’d love to hear your memories or see any photos you might have. Feel free to share them in the comments.

We recently shared some of the places Jodi saw in her first 27 years, from her travels to her many adventures. Today we’re back home in Long Prairie, where it all started. Two very different chapters of the same story, and we’re still working to write the ending Jodi deserves: coming home and reunited with so many friends and loved ones.

If you have any information about what happened to Jodi on June 27, 1995, please come forward. You can reach out through any of the following:
Mason City Police Department: (641) 421-3636 Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman: [email protected]
Or contact us at FindJodi.com

It's time to bring Jodi home to Long Prairie.

07/10/2026

Starting with our most recent post featuring photos from Jodi Huisentruit’s extensive international travels, we’ll occasionally share more “behind the headlines” stories about Jodi. As one close friend of Jodi recently reminded us, there’s so much more to Jodi’s life story than being the “missing news anchor from Mason City, Iowa.”

If you have a minute, check out a post we did last year on Jodi’s 57th birthday.

https://findjodi.com/30-facts-and-memories-about-jodi-huisentruit-on-her-57th-birthday/

07/09/2026

"Jodi Huisentruit: A Passport Full of Memories"

It’s impressive how many countries Jodi managed to visit in her 27 short years. Some of it came during her junior year abroad in England while she was a student at Saint Cloud State University. She also racked up a lot of international travel while working briefly as a Northwest Airlines flight attendant, before deciding she preferred to be “on the air” instead of “in the air.” She and her mom also took a cruise together in the fall of 1994.

From Japan, Germany, Africa and beyond, Jodi was curious about the world and eager to see it. She had so much life still ahead of her when she came home to the Midwest to start her new career as a broadcast journalist.

With everything that’s been written about the investigation over the years, it’s easy to lose sight of who Jodi really was. She’s a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a dear friend to many, and we never want that to be forgotten. We wanted to share snapshots of who Jodi was, beyond the headlines. She was much more than a small town young woman from Long Prairie, Minnesota, working in a small television news market in Mason City, Iowa. Long before her disappearance became big news,Jodi had already seen more of the world than most people ever do.

Thanks to Jodi's family and friends who shared these photos. If any friends have photos you'd like to share, please message FindJodi.

07/07/2026

Why doesn’t FindJodi always speak publicly about tips, leads, or private investigations connected to Jodi’s case?

Because silence is sometimes the most responsible choice.

In this post, our team explains why protecting sources, avoiding speculation, and preserving the integrity of investigative work matters more than being the loudest voice in the room. Public activity and real progress are not always the same thing.

We know waiting for answers is hard. But our goal remains the same: to make sure credible information reaches the people who can act on it — and to keep Jodi, her family, and the pursuit of truth at the center of every decision.

Our role at FindJodi has never been to be the loudest voice in the search for Jodi. It's to make sure real information reaches the people who can actually act on it, and to protect the integrity of that information, and people connected to it, along the way.

07/06/2026

Have you ever noticed the big sugar maple tree dedicated to Jodi Huisentruit, part of our annual gathering every June 27 to honor the missing Mason City, Iowa, news anchor?

The tree was just a sapling when it was unveiled in front of KIMT-TV on June 27, 1997. It was the 2nd anniversary of Jodi’s disappearance on her way to anchor the morning news at the station.

The tree has grown quite tall in the 29 years since it was planted. A memorial stone dedicated to Jodi sits in front of it.

While the tree has grown, Jodi is still missing, and the question remains: what happened to the 27-year-old Long Prairie, Minnesota, native?

If you have any information, please contact:
Mason City Police Department at (641) 421-3636. Email DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman: [email protected] or contact FindJodi.com.

07/02/2026

People magazine has just updated their article on Jodi to include a statement from her family.
https://people.com/private-investigator-says-he-s-identified-a-suspect-in-the-disappearance-of-iowa-news-anchor-jodi-huisentruit-31-years-later-12009318

Update 7/3/2026:
Mason City Police Chief Mike McKelvey’s response to the Pioneer Press article regarding the People magazine story.
Here’s what was said in the paper, including the fact the MCPD first spoke with the source back in 2024, long before the information became public last month.

"Mason City Police Chief Mike McKelvey said his investigators spoke to Ridge’s source in 2024 and again after the People report last month. The chief said information from the source to police was consistent from 2024 to 2026 but “was different” from what Ridge was reporting.

“The source denied making some of the sensational statements,” McKelvey wrote in a statement to the Pioneer Press.

Ridge is a “private investigator” and “is not working with or on behalf of law enforcement or the Jodi Huisentruit family concerning Jodi’s disappearance,” McKelvey said. "

https://www.twincities.com/2026/07/01/jodi-huisentruit-family-people-magazine-dispute/

Jodi Huisentruit's family is publicly disputing a recent People magazine story about her case.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/jodi-huisentruit-family-disputes-investigator-020400482.html

https://www.twincities.com/2026/07/01/jodi-huisentruit-family-people-magazine-dispute/

If you have any information about what happened to Jodi on June 27, 1995, please come forward. You can reach out through any of the following:

Mason City Police Department: (641) 421-3636
Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman: [email protected]

Or contact us at FindJodi.com

07/02/2026

Update 7/3/2026:
Mason City Police Chief Mike McKelvey’s response to the Pioneer Press article regarding the People magazine story.
Here’s what was said in the paper, including the fact the MCPD first spoke with the source back in 2024, long before the information became public last month.

"Mason City Police Chief Mike McKelvey said his investigators spoke to Ridge’s source in 2024 and again after the People report last month. The chief said information from the source to police was consistent from 2024 to 2026 but “was different” from what Ridge was reporting.

“The source denied making some of the sensational statements,” McKelvey wrote in a statement to the Pioneer Press.

Ridge is a “private investigator” and “is not working with or on behalf of law enforcement or the Jodi Huisentruit family concerning Jodi’s disappearance,” McKelvey said. "

https://www.twincities.com/2026/07/01/jodi-huisentruit-family-people-magazine-dispute/

Jodi Huisentruit's family is publicly disputing a recent People magazine story about her case.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/jodi-huisentruit-family-disputes-investigator-020400482.html

https://www.twincities.com/2026/07/01/jodi-huisentruit-family-people-magazine-dispute/

If you have any information about what happened to Jodi on June 27, 1995, please come forward. You can reach out through any of the following:

Mason City Police Department: (641) 421-3636
Iowa DCI Special Agent Ryan Herman: [email protected]

Or contact us at FindJodi.com

06/28/2026

Thank you so much to Jodi Huisentruit’s friends, news media, and community members who showed up for FindJodi’s annual gathering to honor Jodi and appeal for answers on the 31st anniversary of her abduction.

It gets harder each year to find something fresh to say or present at these somber gatherings. But the loss for Jodi’s loved ones is just as real today as it was on June 27, 1995, and we will never give up trying to help find answers.

06/28/2026

In honor of Jodi’s kind heart, we would like to thank her family, her friends, and her work family for allowing us to share her day with each person highlighted on the playing cards, along with Grace Esquivel who went missing 43 years ago from Mason City, and all the Iowa missing persons and cold ...