When the Torch Gang Robbed the Spring Valley Post Office

Mabel’s Poison Corn Mystery

In 1922, a bizarre and disturbing crime shook the Mabel area of Fillmore County. Former marshal Arch Gordon discovered that several of his cows had been poisoned after eating ears of corn that had been hollowed out and filled with Paris green — a deadly poison commonly used at the time as an insecticide. As rumors spread through the community, bloodhounds were brought in from Waterloo, Iowa, and investigators followed a trail of threats, grudges, and suspicious evidence. Before long, local man Dave Coonradt found himself at the center of one of southeastern Minnesota’s strangest criminal investigations. In this episode of Roots & Riddles, we explore the shocking cattle poisoning case that horrified rural Minnesota, the newspaper coverage that fueled public outrage, and the revenge-driven mystery that still feels stranger than fiction more than a century later.

When the Torch Gang Robbed the Spring Valley Post Office

In the spring of 1940, a gang of safecrackers armed with acetylene torches swept across southern Minnesota and northern Iowa — leaving behind burned vaults, stolen cash, and nervous communities. One of their boldest crimes happened in the heart of Spring Valley, when burglars broke into the local post office under cover of darkness and torched their way through two steel vault doors. In this episode of Roots & Riddles, we follow the trail of the so-called “Torch Gang,” explore the regional crime spree tied to Lanesboro, Caledonia, and beyond, and uncover the story of James Burl Johnson — the ex-con eventually connected to the robberies. From stolen welding equipment to late-night break-ins and dramatic newspaper headlines, this forgotten case reads like something out of a noir crime film.

Did the Barker–Karpis Gang bury their loot near Chatfield?

In 1934, the notorious Barker–Karpis Gang kidnapped St. Paul banker Edward Bremer and collected a ransom worth $200,000. According to local legend, not all of that money was ever recovered. Some believe a portion of the gang’s loot was buried somewhere along Highway 52 between Rochester and Chatfield — hidden beneath a fence post during the dead of a Minnesota winter. But is there any truth to the story? Or is it simply one of southeastern Minnesota’s most enduring treasure legends? In this episode, we explore the Bremer kidnapping, the Barker–Karpis Gang, and the decades-old rumors of buried gangster gold hidden somewhere in Fillmore County.

Luke Miller: Doctor, Lawyer, State Senator

Before modern hospitals and paved roads reached southeastern Minnesota, frontier communities depended on figures like Dr. Luke Miller. Physician, lawyer, politician, and early Fillmore County leader, Luke Miller played a major role in shaping the region during Minnesota’s pioneer era. From practicing medicine on the frontier to serving in the Minnesota legislature and advocating for railroad expansion, his life intersected with many of the forces that transformed early Fillmore County. In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of one of southeastern Minnesota’s most influential early settlers—and the lasting mark he left on the community. Sources: History of Fillmore County, Minnesota (1882); Minnesota legislative records; contemporary newspaper accounts; Luke Miller biographical records.

Fountain, 1874: A Murder That Took 28 Years to Solve

What if a murderer could simply… disappear? In 1874, Patrick Noonan killed a man in Fountain, Minnesota—in front of witnesses—and fled. For nearly 30 years, he lived freely under a new life, hundreds of miles away. But the past has a way of catching up. This episode uncovers the brutal killing of John McDonald, the decades-long manhunt, and the moment justice finally closed in. Sources: History of Fillmore County, Minnesota (1882); Chatfield Democrat (May 1, 1902); Stillwater Daily Gazette(April 23, 1902).