South Dakota
Contents of memorial to mountain man Hugh Glass revealed at Neihardt event • South Dakota Searchlight
WAYNE, Nebraska — A “reveal” of what a Nebraska poet hid inside a lonely monument a century ago revealed more of what Mother Nature could wreck over the span of 100 years.
On Saturday, descendants of John Neihardt revealed what they’d found inside an “altar to courage” that the poet and members of a fan club from what’s now Wayne State College planted in the rocky soil of northwestern South Dakota in 1923.
The homemade, concrete monument memorialized the courage of mountain man Hugh Glass, who was left for dead in August 1823 after being mauled by a grizzly bear but then crawled and limped 200 miles to get help.
Neihardt challenged students from Wayne State (then Nebraska Normal College) to return in 100 years to rededicate and open a time capsule he buried within the monument, which he said contained an “original manuscript.”
Drilled, chiseled into monument
His family carefully drilled and chiseled into the thigh-high monument last October after removing it from its location near Lemmon, South Dakota, where Glass was mauled.
But on Saturday they revealed that what they could retrieve from inside were still-wet fragments of a special Neihardt edition of a student newspaper, The Goldenrod, as well as pieces of Neihardt’s book containing his epic poem describing the heroic crawl, “The Song of Hugh Glass.”
Coralie Hughes, a granddaughter of Neihardt, said that despite the lack of a new work from Nebraska’s “poet laureate in perpetuity,” the family had accomplished its goal of fulfilling the “challenge” to open up the time capsule and not destroying the monument in the process.
“I was hoping for a personal note to the world from my grandfather,” Hughes said. “Maybe he did (leave one) because a lot of what we found was unintelligible.”
The paper fragments, when found inside a tin box imbedded in the concrete, were still wet, which she said may have been the result of several times when the monument was flooded.
The monument was originally built on dry, private ranch land near the confluence of two forks of the Grand River, but it ended up on the banks of a federal reservoir that flooded at least four times since 1953.
Hughes said the family was told by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the reservoir, that the monument had to be moved if it was to be breached.
She said the family proceeded gingerly in drilling into the monument so as not to destroy it. The first thing to be discovered— using a snake-like video camera — were fragments of a pop bottle that contained a letter from two newlyweds— J.T. and Myrtle Young of Lincoln — who arrived too late to sign a document Neihardt said was signed by those present and placed inside a tin box.
The Neihardt family decided against trying to retrieve the glass fragments or trying to dig out all the paper fragments inside the embedded tin box for fear of destroying the monument, which was relocated to the John Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, Nebraska.
Some papers remain inside the tin box, Hughes said, but they are just “crumbling” pieces.
“We didn’t want to keep going,” said Alexis Petri of Kansas City, who produced a short documentary on the family’s work to retrieve the monument.
Her documentary and the “reveal” were presented Saturday at the annual spring conference of the Neihardt Foundation held at Wayne State College. Neihardt graduated from the school, then called Nebraska Normal College, at age 15.
‘Wonderful to see something tangible’
The event focused on the saga of the almost forgotten monument, the taking up of the challenge by Wayne State professor Joseph Weixelman and his class to rededicate the monument and the eventual decision to relocate the monument to Nebraska.
Mary McDermott, who drove from Holdrege with her daughter to view the final chapter in the mystery of the monument, betrayed no disappointment that some rare manuscript wasn’t found.
“It’s wonderful to see something tangible from 100 years ago,” she said.
“I’m impressed that there was something still there,” said her daughter Alizabeth.
Marianne Reynolds, the executive director of the Neihardt Center, said the fragments retrieved would be sent to the Ford Conservation Center in Omaha for further analysis.
After that, she said, they would be put on display at the center in Bancroft. A kiosk is envisioned so that visitors can play the documentary produced by Petri, Reynolds added.
Half the people released from prison in South Dakota return within three years, according to the state Department of Corrections’ newly released 2025 annual report — the highest recidivism rate in at least the last eight years.
Among Native Americans released from prison, 59% return within three years — the highest of any race. Native Americans comprise 39% of inmates in the state prison system — 35% among men and 61% among women. The recidivism rate among Native American women is 66%.
Department officials shared the statistics and annual report with members of the Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force at its Wednesday, Dec. 17 meeting in Pierre. The recidivism rate is seven points higher than last year.
The task force, made up of lawmakers, government officials and nonprofit leaders, is considering ways to reduce the state’s recidivism rate by expanding prison-based rehabilitation and helping released inmates transition back into their communities. The group was created earlier this year as lawmakers approved construction of a $650 million men’s prison in Sioux Falls, and it’s focusing on behavioral health, educational, faith-based and Native American-themed programs.
The group approved several recommendations at its meeting, including an endorsement of a faith-based seminary program.
Task force member Rep. John Hughes, R-Sioux Falls, said he hopes for “transformational offerings” to inmates.
“If we don’t see lives changed, then I don’t know what we’re doing here,” Hughes said. “We’re just managing statistics and personal failures.”
‘We’re not appropriately supporting the Indigenous population’
Task force member Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, told South Dakota Searchlight the increase in recidivism, especially among Native Americans, will “further strain an already strained system.”
“It’s indicative of the fact that we’re not appropriately supporting the Indigenous population,” Wittman said. “We’re already overincarcerating Indigenous people in South Dakota, and then we’re seeing them return at a much higher rate.”
The task force approved 11 immediate recommendations for the Department of Corrections. The list includes bringing back evening volunteers in prisons, designating the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate parole program as a “flagship model” in the state, and establishing volunteer roundtables to give feedback on department policy and programs.
The recommendations are “small wins or barriers that can be removed,” Wittman said, while the task force continues to work on more complex issues.
Wittman is most excited about a recommendation that the department hire a tribal cultural liaison to coordinate ceremonies, tribal contacts and volunteer access to the state’s prisons. The position should be piloted for six months, the task force recommended.
“The fact that the DOC is willing to establish an individual whose sole focus is going to be better programming for its Indigenous population is huge,” Wittman said. “They’ll hopefully identify where Indigenous programming will be most effective.”
Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, the task force chairman, confirmed with recently appointed Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb that the department would look into the recommendations and report back which could be viable options.
New corrections secretary lauds faith-based program
The prison seminary program endorsed by the task force was created by Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain while he served as warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Cain resigned from his role in Louisiana in 2015 amid investigations of his business dealings.
The program operates in 26 states and partners with accredited, four-year Christian seminary programs to teach inmates. They can earn a seminary degree through the program, often with graduates serving as ministers in prison systems.
Lamb helped implement the program in the Illinois prison system. Within months of its launch, Lamb said, he saw fewer assaults between inmates and against staff.
“Whatever your religious beliefs are, whatever you think, this program works,” Lamb said. “It worked everywhere they tried.”
Cain spoke to lawmakers in October about the program, ahead of the task force’s first meeting in Sioux Falls. He said the state would need a nonprofit to run it. The task force voted on Wednesday to encourage South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s administration to authorize the program.
Rhoden said in a Dec. 17 news release that he “accepted” the recommendation. The news release did not say who would operate the program, but said it would be privately supported, requiring neither Department of Corrections nor inmate funding.
“Bringing this seminary program to our state will restore hope, build character, and strengthen our correctional system from the inside out,” Rhoden said in the news release.
Jon Ozmint, the former director of South Carolina prisons, also presented to the task force in October. He said the recidivism rate for state inmates in the faith-based seminary Cain created is around 2% in South Carolina.
Wittman said after Wednesday’s meeting that she has “reservations” about the seminary program.
“I don’t necessarily support Burl Cain-style programming in South Dakota prisons because rehabilitation needs to be voluntary, secular and grounded in evidence,” Wittman said.
Despite those concerns, she voted in favor of implementing the program.
“I voted yes because, despite my reservations, I know how limited current programs are,” Wittman said, “and something is better than nothing.”
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 20, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
08-21-30-41-47, Lucky Ball: 15
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
09-12-34-45-50, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
04-15-17-23-35
Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South Dakota’s weak open records law gives police agencies full discretion on whether to release footage from body or dashboard cameras, and in most cases, the videos of officer conduct are never shown to the public.
South Dakota News Watch made formal public records requests to obtain video footage of use of deadly force incidents from eight separate law enforcement agencies in November, and all of the requests were quickly denied.
On a few occasions, South Dakota law enforcement agencies have released video footage of their own accord but not necessarily in cases where officer conduct is in question.
The Watertown Police Department released a video on Facebook in early November showing officers responding to a possible break-in with their guns drawn only to find a whitetail buck that had made it into a bedroom.
In 2016, the Rapid City Police Department posted a dash cam video to its public Facebook page showing the chief’s nephew proposing to his girlfriend in a mock traffic stop. “This one is too good not to share,” the Facebook post noted.
(Watertown Police Department Facebook page)
The Rapid City Police Department rejected News Watch’s request for videos of a May 30, 2023, incident in which an officer fatally shot 25-year-old Kyle Whiting, who brandished a fake gun during a foot chase. A bystander inside a nearby home was also shot in the abdomen by the officer and survived. The state ruled the
shooting was justified
.
Some police agencies will occasionally release still images from body or dashboard camera videos, typically when the screenshots show an officer facing a clear threat that appears to justify use of deadly force.
In August, the state released an image from video of a July 5, chase in which a Sioux Falls police officer shot and wounded 24-year-old Deondre Gene Black Hawk in the 100 block of Garfield Avenue.
One still image released to the public shows the gun Black Hawk fired at police. Another image shows Black Hawk pointing the gun toward a pursuing officer prior to the shooting, which
was ruled justified
by state investigators.
In a move that appeared to have political overtones, videos were released in 2021 showing former South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg being pulled over by officers for suspected traffic violations. The videos and audio showed Ravnsborg informing officers of his status as attorney general during the traffic stops, some of which did not result in tickets.
The videos were released during a period when Ravnsborg was facing possible removal from office for striking and killing a pedestrian in September 2020.
Ravnsborg was eventually impeached, an action supported by then-Gov. Kristi Noem, whose office also made the unprecedented move of releasing videos of Ravnsborg being interviewed by detectives during the investigation into the 2020 fatal accident.
(Screenshot of 2021 state video)
Video of a June 2023 police-involved shooting in South Dakota was released by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. In that incident, 39-year-old James Schneider of Watauga fired a weapon and then led authorities on a vehicle chase that ended at the Bullhead Community Center parking lot.
According to the dashboard video, Schneider was waving his arms and holding a handgun in an area where people were present. After he turned to flee into a residential neighborhood, he was shot in the back by an officer. Schneider was found guilty in August of assault and weapons charges after a jury trial and is awaiting sentencing.
In releasing
the video
, the BIA said it was doing so to be transparent in its operations. To protect the privacy of all involved, faces were blurred in the video.
McPherson County Sheriff David Ackerman, president of the South Dakota Sheriff’s Association, said body and dash cameras are important tools for police agencies in both urban and rural areas, even though his camera program costs about $60,000 a year, roughly 10% of the overall departmental budget.
“These are very valuable tools, and it’s something that in this day and age, every office and agency needs to have,” Ackerman said. “I’m glad where we are today because they’re for the protection of the public as well as the officers.”
Monty Rothenberger, assistant police chief in Yankton, said he supports the use of dash and body cameras as a way to increase accountability for officers and to aid in resolving public complaints.
“I wouldn’t do this job without a body camera, and I enjoy wearing it,” Rothenberger said. “I don’t have anything to hide. And because everything is on video, I feel like Big Brother is watching and I support that.”
— This story was originally published on southdakotanewswatch.org.
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