(FOX 9) – Two women are dead after a crash involving a minivan and a semi-truck in southwest Minnesota on Christmas Eve.

Deadly Pipestone County crash

What we know:

 Minnesota State Patrol responded around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday to a crash along Highway 75 at 21st Street in Elmer Township in Pipestone County. The intersection is about eight miles east of the South Dakota border and 30 miles northeast of Sioux Falls. Google Maps images show a rural intersection surrounded by farmland with a power substation on the northwest corner. There are stop signs located on 21st Street.

According to an incident report from state patrol, the semi involved was headed northbound on Highway 75 when it collided with the minivan, which was traveling westbound on 21st Street.

Local perspective:

Troopers say both the driver of the minivan, 71-year-old Patricia Ann Struiksma, and a passenger, 69-year-old Donna Jean Vanthof, were killed in the crash.

The driver of the semi was not hurt.

What we don’t know:

Further details about the circumstances leading up to the crash were not disclosed. However, troopers said alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash. Investigators also noted that road conditions were wet at the time of the collision.

On Dec. 9, 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted on CBS, and it became an instant classic. Lee Jenkins’ home is proof that the show is still a hit six decades later.

“It’s just something about these people,” Jenkins said. “Talking about health, talking about wealth, talking about friendship and everything.”

A long-time Staples, Minnesota, businessman, Jenkins didn’t have any woodworking skills when he retired. 

But in 2017, at the age of 74, he decided to pick up a jigsaw and build something that made him happy. Snoopy came to mind, and after he created Charlie Brown’s beloved beagle, he realized he was hooked. 

“It just evolved from that to more characters every year until this year,” Jenkins said. “There are 18 in the main gang and Marcie is number 11.”

Each of his creations is made out of particleboard. Jenkins first sketches an image and then goes to work. 

“I’m not an artist, this is all freehand out of here,” Jenkins said. 

From the sketching to the cutting to the sanding to the painting, it takes anywhere from 10 to 20 hours for Jenkins to build one character.

“Probably the hardest one I had to make was Pig-Pen,” Jenkins said. 

He now has enough for an entire holiday scene, complete with Charlie Brown’s scrawny tree just like in the show. 

There’s Linus with his blanket, Schroeder with his piano and Charlie right in the middle of it all. 

“His famous saying was ‘Good Grief,’” said Jenkins. “And it is fun. It really is neat for the family, and that’s what I’ve got here is a family.”

Jennifer Krippner was as surprised as anyone when her dad began this holiday hobby in his mid-70s, but she believes this isn’t just a tribute to Peanuts creator and St. Paul native Charles Schulz. 

“I think what it says to a lot of us is passion, creativity, doesn’t retire,” Krippner said.

She believes her dad is honoring a more innocent time. Back when a phrase like “good grief” meant good things. 

“It’s a classic show and the Peanuts, I don’t think, are just characters. They are memories for us, and I think that brings back a lot of nostalgia,” Krippner said.

Each of Jenkins’ Peanuts creations is about 3 feet high and they are on display in front of his house, four miles north of Staples. He typically builds one or two each holiday season. 

State officials sent a formal warning to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday in response to reports of federal agents illegally meddling with Minnesota-issued license plates on unmarked vehicles.

The cease-and-desist letter from Driver and Vehicle Services Director Pong Xiong describes allegations of DHS agents swapping license plates between vehicles and placing identical license plates on two separate vehicles.

Video: ICE agents in Twin Cities stop US citizen, demand proof of citizenship

“The above-described conduct violates Minnesota law and will not be tolerated,” Xiong wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “To be clear, Minnesota law prohibits anyone, including the driver of an unmarked law enforcement vehicle, from displaying a Minnesota license plate other than the license plate assigned to that vehicle by DVS.”

If federal agents don’t abide by Minnesota law, DVS could reconsider federal agents’ access to Minnesota’s undercover license plate program.

“Historically, DHS has used this program to protect the anonymity of law enforcement personnel
performing sensitive work in Minnesota while adhering to state law and providing a mechanism for
accountability in the event an unmarked vehicle is misused,” Xiong wrote.

Further violations could result in DVS revoking their vehicle registrations and seizing their license plates, the DVS director warned.

Read the full letter from DVS below.

Gov. Tim Walz also addressed the alleged conduct by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a news conference on Tuesday.

“These guys are doing what criminals do: They’re putting license plates on vehicles they’re not registered to. They’re renting vehicles and putting on fake plates,” Walz said, adding that such a practice makes it more difficult for local and state law enforcement to know whether a vehicle is involved in official duties.

‘It’s putting people at risk’: Walz, Twin Cities leaders denounce ICE immigration operations

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to DHS and ICE for comment and is awaiting a response.

This isn’t the first time federal immigration agents have gotten in hot water with state officials over alleged license plate violations.

Earlier this month, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced that his office had revoked a rental car’s license plate when investigators found ICE agents swapped its plates. He also issued a warning to all rental car companies that they can be held liable if federal agents are caught tampering with the license plates assigned to their vehicles.