With classes, sports and many other after-school jobs and activities, the lives of St. Ambrose students can be quite busy. But that didn’t stop senior Brooke Hass from starting something she was passionate about. 

Hass is majoring in strategic communication and public relations here at SAU, and outside of academics, she is a true crime junkie. 

“I decided to start a podcast because I love listening to true crime podcasts myself, and I thought it would be so fun to start my own,” Hass said. “I had so many friends tell me that I should start a podcast and that they would love to listen.”

This podcast focuses on telling true crime stories that take place in the Quad Cities or the Midwest. 

“My first one covered a murder in Moline, my second and third covered cases in Des Moines, and my fourth covers a case in Davenport,” Hass said. “I am also working on a few episodes in Northern Illinois, the Cedar Rapids area, and lots in the Quad Cities area.”

Creating something like a podcast takes a lot of time and effort, but every bit of work is worth it to Hass once she sees the outcome. 

“My favorite thing about having my own podcast is that I get to tell stories of people that the public may have forgotten,” Hass said. “You never really know who you will reach with stories like the ones I research, so someone out there may have answers or information on a cold case. I also get to expand my skill set and learn more about audio editing, and this makes me much more appreciative of those who have podcasts.”

Though this is a fairly new addition to KALA-FM, Hass has big hopes for what this could potentially become. 

“I hope to have this podcast not only be a source of a collection of close-to-home stories, but I also want this to be a way to teach people how to be safe and aware of things that happen in the real world,” Hass said. “I also hope to potentially help bring awareness to the cases that I cover, since some of them might still be unsolved.”

Start your spooky season off right by checking out The Morbid Midwest on wherever you get your podcasts from. A new episode comes out every Friday. You can check out The Morbid Midwest podcast’s Instagram to stay updated on all things true crime here in the Midwest.