SCSU Grad Jodi Huisentruit’s Disappearance To Be Featured On CBS’ 48 Hours

Jodi Huisentruit was a television news anchor from Mason City, Iowa who went missing on June 27, 1995 while on her way to work.

CBS' 48 Hours is airing an in-depth look at the Jodi Huisentruit case for the first time this Saturday at 9 p.m. central time.  Jodi's killer remains at large. As of today, she's been missing for 23 years, 5 months and 4 days. Someone knows something.

Her story has always haunted me because we both graduated from the same program at St. Cloud State University. She was a 1990 graduate and I graduated in 2013. I have classmates that work at the same television station she worked at.

I enrolled at SCSU in 2009 with dreams and aspirations of being a broadcast news reporter. My head was filled with only positive thoughts about the job and the industry. "What could be better than a job in television news", I thought.

When I was going through school we were encouraged by our professors to create an on-air name to protect our personal lives. It seemed silly to us at first until we were told Jodi's horrific story.

I still remember sitting in Mark Mills's reporting class the day he first told us about her. Until that day I had never even thought about the harsh reality of the industry I was going to school for. It never occurred to me that the dream I held in my hand could also be my biggest nightmare.

I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to create a "stage" name. I understood why it might be important to do that but at the same time I didn't want to let fear dictate who I was. In today's world, with a quick Google search and the click of a button, people can find out anything about you. I decided to keep my real name on the air.

But, there are days when I think of Jodi and I'm reminded of the very public job I do have. Her story is always right there in the back of my mind.

Anyone with information about the Huisentruit disappearance is asked to contact the Mason City Police at 641-421-3636.