Posts by Michael Brodkorb

Friday: ABC’s ’20/20′ episode about Sandra Grazzini-Rucki

March 28, 2019 Comments Off read Media, The Girls Are Gone

Tomorrow, March 29, 2019, at 10 PM (CST), The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will be broadcasting the episode of ABC’s “20/20” discussed in the new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone.

The episode about Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, called “Footprints in the Snow” was first broadcast on April 8, 2016, and was later rebroadcast on March 25, 2017. The episode has since been rebroadcast on multiple television networks in the last two years.

Grazzini-Rucki had tried to stop the rebroadcasts of the episode which found no documentation to verify Grazzini-Rucki’s claim that she was abused by David Rucki. Grazzini-Rucki had taken to Facebook, calling the show “rank propaganda” and encouraging people to register complaints.

In April 2017, Grazzini-Rucki announced she would be filing a defamation lawsuit against ABC, Inc, ABC’s “20/20”, and Elizabeth Vargas, the co-anchor of “20/20”. Grazzini-Rucki claimed she would be seeking “an ungodly amount” of money in her latest lawsuit, but the lawsuit was never filed. Continue reading →

Book event on Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Edina

March 20, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will have a book signing at Barnes & Noble at the Galleria in Edina, Minnesota on Saturday, March 23, 2019, from 1 PM – 3 PM.

Since being released last October, The Girls Are Gone has been a commercial and critical success. The Kindle Edition of The Girls Are Gone has appeared on multiple “best seller” lists by Amazon.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Third printing ordered of ‘The Girls Are Gone’

March 13, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann announced today that the third printing of their book, The Girls Are Gone, has been ordered.

Brodkorb and Mann have appeared at over 20 events for their book in the last few months and more book events in Minnesota and other states will be announced in the next few weeks.

“We are thrilled that there has been such an amazing response to our book,” said Allison Mann. “Bringing such an important story to as many people as possible has always been the goal and it feels wonderful that is happening now,” said Mann.

The Girls Are Gone is published by Wise Ink Creative Publishing and was released on October 23, 2018. The book provides new details about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki and the adults who conspired to keep the missing sisters and the truth hidden. Continue reading →

Barnes & Noble book events canceled due to weather

March 4, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

UPDATE (3:10 PM, Frida, March 8, 2019) – Due to inclement weather scheduled for this weekend, Saturday’s event at Barnes & Noble in Edina has been postponed until March 23, 2019.

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UPDATE (3:41 PM, Thursday, March 7, 2019) – Due to inclement weather scheduled for this weekend, Sunday’s event at Barnes & Noble in Minnetonka has been postponed until a later date.

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Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will have ~~three~~ two events this week at Barnes & Noble locations across Minnesota for their new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019, Barnes & Noble in Duluth, Minnesota from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
~~Saturday, March 9, 2019, Barnes & Noble in Edina, Minnesota from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.~~
~~Sunday, March 10, 2019,~~ ~~Barnes & Noble in Minnetonka, Minn~~esota from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.

Since being released in October, The Girls Are Gone has been a commercial and critical success. The Kindle Edition of The Girls Are Gone is currently listed on Amazon’s Best Sellers for True Crime Biographies.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Michelle MacDonald’s lawsuit against Missing in Minnesota dismissed

March 1, 2019 Comments Off read Legal Developments, Michelle MacDonald, Missing in Minnesota, The Girls Are Gone

A judge in Ramsey County today dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Michelle MacDonald against Michael Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota. Judge Richard H. Kyle, Jr. granted the motion for summary judgment filed by Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota in October.

Judge Kyle ruled MacDonald was a public figure and that the statements made by Brodkorb and Missing in Minnesota “were either true or lack the requisite showing of actual malice…”

In an interview for Minnesota Lawyer, Brodkorb said the ruling from today from Judge Kyle was that further evidence that MacDonald’s lawsuit “should have never been filed in the first place.” Continue reading →

In the news: Crime Beat Podcast

February 27, 2019 Comments Off read Media, Podcasts, The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann appeared on Crime Beat to discuss their new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone.

Brodkorb and Mann have announced a series of book events. Click here to find an event in your area.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook.

In the news: ‘Authors bring their true crime book to Scout & Morgan Books’

February 26, 2019 Comments Off read Media, The Girls Are Gone

Please read this story from the Isanti County News about our upcoming book event at Scout & Morgan Books in Cambridge, Minnesota on Saturday, March 2, 2019, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

Allison Mann and Michael Brodkorb have spent the last two years sharing the true story of the Rucki family after both were exposed to the disappearance of the two children through their careers.

Mann, a paralegal, and Brodkorb, a Star Tribune writer at the time of the incident, will be hosting an event from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 2 at Scout & Morgan Books in Cambridge, where they will discuss the book and how the story of the Rucki girls helped bring awareness to the issue of family abduction and missing children across not only the state of Minnesota but the country as a whole.

It was while at work that Mann came across the Rucki family’s case.

“I work as a paralegal at a small law firm in Minneapolis,” Mann said. “This case literally walked through our door. After getting to know the family and watching all that happened to them, I became passionate about following the case through all of the legal channels, even when it didn’t involve my office.”

During the criminal trials, Mann met Brodkorb, and through their mutual vested interest in the case, they joined forces to tell the story.

“My work on this case began when I was writing for the Star Tribune,” Brodkorb said. “As this story evolved, so did my work. I went from writing stories for the Star Tribune to later writing this book.”

“‘The Girls Are Gone’ was born on the idea that the story of the Rucki family is too important not to tell,” Mann said. “Many families in our state and across the country are impacted by not only divorce but parental or family abduction. Being able to bring awareness to the issue and give a voice to these victims was all the motivation we needed.”

Click here to read the full story from the Itasca County News.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Book event in Alexandria on Saturday

February 18, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will discuss and sign their new book, The Girls Are Gone at Cherry Street Books in Alexandria, Minnesota on Saturday, February 23 from 12 PM – 2 PM.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Book event on Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Eden Prairie

February 14, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will have a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on Saturday, February 16, 2019, from 7 PM – 9 PM.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Restraining orders granted for stalking Brodkorb and Mann

February 8, 2019 Comments Off read Legal Developments, The Girls Are Gone

A judge in Dakota County granted Harassment Restraining Orders (HRO) against a zealous supporter of Dede Evavold, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, and Michelle MacDonald, for harassing and stalking Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann.

The HROs were filed separately by Brodkorb and Mann against Terry Dean Nemmers of Glenwood, Minnesota.

Over the last three years, Nemmers (pictured above during a previous time in jail) has attempted to contact Brodkorb and Mann nearly 400 times, despite being instructed on multiple occasions to cease all contact. Most recently, Nemmers has taking premeditated steps to track and monitor Brodkorb and Mann’s public events to promote their new book, The Girls Are Gone. Nemmers sent harassing and threatening emails to bookstores, trying to have Brodkorb and Mann’s book events canceled.

Nemmers has also posted pictures of Brodkorb’s wife and children – the same pictures that were surreptitiously taken of Brodkorb’s wife and children and distributed online.

The HROs – which remain in effect until February 2021 – note that Nemmers “[f]ollwed, pursued, or stalked” both Brodkorb and Mann. Nemmers is prohibited from having any direct or indirect contact with Brodkorb and Mann. He is also prohibited from attending any of their appearances or book events. Continue reading →

Book event at Bexter Book & Copy on Saturday

February 7, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will discuss and sign their new book, The Girls Are Gone at Bexter Book & Copy in Milaca, Minnesota on Saturday, February 9 from 7 PM – 9 PM.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Book event at SubText Books on Wednesday

February 5, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann will discuss and sign their new book, The Girls Are Gone at Subtext Books in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, February 6 from 7 PM – 8 PM.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

Tom Barnard critical of Trish Van Pilsum’s treatment of the Rucki family

January 31, 2019 Comments Off read Media, Podcasts, The Girls Are Gone

In a recent interview with Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann for The Tom Barnard Podcast, host Tom Barnard strongly criticized Trish Van Pilsum for withholding critical information which could have helped reunite two missing sisters – Samantha and Gianna Rucki – with their family and friends within days of the children disappearing 2013.

Brodkorb and Mann appeared on The Tom Barnard Podcast to discuss their new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone, which details Van Pilsum’s unethical conduct as a journalist also broke the Rucki’s family trust with the media. This lack of trust contributed greatly to a lack of any substantive media coverage about the disappearance of Samantha and Gianna Rucki for nearly two years.

At the end of the podcast, Barnard directed his final remarks at Van Pilsum:

Trish, I have no idea how the hell you could do this cause, I’ve been around parents who’ve lost their children. Neither one of them came back, one of them died from huffing, the other one, Jacob [Wetterling], unfortunately, was buried for I don’t know how many years. How you could walk away from that and be comfortable I will never understand cause I could never do what you did. Never.

As noted in the interview, Barnard has worked in the past with Patty Wetterling to help promote public awareness about missing children, including the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling. Click here to listen to Brodkorb and Mann’s full interview for The Tom Barnard Podcast. Continue reading →

Two book events this week in St. Paul and Minneapolis

January 29, 2019 Comments Off read The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann have two events later this week for their new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone. On Friday, Brodkorb and Mann will have a book discussion and signing at Common Good Books in St. Paul, Minnesota from 7 PM – 9 PM.

On Saturday, Brodkorb and Mann will be signing their book at Barnes & Noble in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1 PM – 3 PM.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook. Click here to view a list of upcoming book events for Brodkorb and Mann.

In the news: The Tom Barnard Podcast

January 28, 2019 Comments Off read Media, Podcasts, The Girls Are Gone

Michael Brodkorb and Allison Mann appeared on The Tom Barnard Podcast to discuss their new best-selling true crime book, The Girls Are Gone.

Brodkorb and Mann have announced a series of book events scheduled for later this month and February. Click here to find an event in your area.

The Girls Are Gone is available for sale through numerous retailers in both paperback and ebook.