South Dakota
Daughter gives thanks for journey of deceased mother's quilt • South Dakota Searchlight
HURON — There are those rare times – very emotional, memorable instances – when all of the good things fall into place and the outcome is a heartwarming experience for everyone involved.
This is the story of one of those times.
It begins, oddly enough, at a neighborhood rummage sale in 2015 or 2016. What makes it odd, with what was to come, is that Jeanine Tschetter Greenwood is not really sure when she came across a partially completed quilt top, folded up and in a bag with other items.
“I remember taking it out and thinking to myself, ‘My gosh, someone has $2 marked on this!’”
The pieced top was in a classic quilt pattern referred to as “Trip Around the World.” Small identically sized squares, in this instance more than 1,200 of them, are sewn together in a concentric diamond shape. The pattern starts with a single central square, and the use of varied prints and contrasting colors accentuate the diamond design as it radiates outward.
Jeanine is quick to note that she is not a quilter. “Not like cutting little pieces of fabric and sewing them together into a pattern. I have done a tied baby quilt with a panel on it, but nothing to the extent of what I found in the bag.”
She thought that perhaps it could be a good winter project for when she and her husband Doug went to Arizona. Which is what she did. After washing and ironing the top to determine a size, she began working with a fabric store to select a border fabric that she added to the pieced top.
“I shared how I came upon the top with a woman at the shop and we both marveled at the work that had gone into the cutting and sewing the blocks.”
She went back to the store, selected fabric for the back and binding, the batting to layer between the top and the back and had the fabric store do the quilting. “They sewed the binding on the front,” Jeanine said, “then I took it home and stitched the binding to the back.”
She said that the quilt saw use in Arizona on the couples’ king-size bed, and, after she sold the property there, on her bed in Sioux Falls.
“Every time I saw the quilt or made the bed,” she recalls, “I thought about the work that some woman put into creating this beautiful quilt, only to have it end up in a bag at a rummage sale with a bunch of stuff.”
Every time I saw the quilt or made the bed, I thought about the work that some woman put into creating this beautiful quilt, only to have it end up in a bag at a rummage sale with a bunch of stuff.
– Jeanine Tschetter Greenwood
Jeanine grew up in Huron, graduating from Huron High School in 1970. She worked at Bell Telephone for 17 years, 15 years in Huron until the company closed the Huron location. She then moved to Rapid City with Bell and worked there for two years.
She had been married and had three children, but later divorced. While in Rapid City, she met Doug Greenwood, who was with the Air Force, and they married. His career took the couple to Germany for three years until he retired, when they moved to Huron.
“Doug grew up on the East Coast and always wanted to move there again,” Jeanine said. “So, when my youngest graduated high school, I was out of reasons for not going and we moved to New Hampshire.”
It didn’t take long to determine that living 45 miles away from work in Boston was difficult. A year of fighting traffic was enough and they moved to Sioux Falls.
During those years, Jeanine worked in various departments of the federal government, landing at the EROS Center when they returned to South Dakota in 2000. In 2012, Doug and Jeanine retired and within a couple of years, the increased population in Sioux Falls led them back to Huron in 2017.
While they lived in Sioux Falls after retirement, the couple owned a cabin at Lake Byron, spending time there throughout the summer, and it was on one of those summer trips to the area that Jeanine found herself at a rummage sale, set up in a garage in the alley behind 895 12th Street, SW.
“Doug was very big on not accumulating ‘STUFF’” Jeanine said. “He said ‘Jeanine, it’s just STUFF. Life doesn’t have to be about STUFF!’ So, it was really odd that I found myself at a rummage sale, looking at ‘stuff.’”
A short time later, Doug received a kidney transplant, as the effects of Agent Orange, with which he came in contact during the Vietnam War, caused issues. After the transplant, the couple returned to Sioux Falls to be nearer his medical provider.
“When we retired,” Jeanine said, “We had vowed to do what we could for as long as we could and we did just that.” Doug Greenwood passed away Sept. 11, 2023 – on Patriots Day.
“I decided that I didn’t want the Arizona property and ‘stuff,’” Jeanine said. “I sold it, packed up the things I wanted and headed home.” When she got back to Sioux Falls, she went through a storage unit and got rid of more “stuff.”
“But that quilt was always there,” she said. “I decided that I would do what I could to find someone – I figured a granddaughter – of the woman who had made the quilt and try to get it back to a member of her family.”
She didn’t have much to go on.
“I grew up there, remember,” she said. “And while I was at Bell, I had gained a pretty thorough knowledge of the area and remembered the neighborhood where I hit the rummage sale.”
Armed with a cup of coffee and a computer, she went to work, using Google Maps to zero in on the house. She used street view to be positive she was looking at the correct home.
Next, she turned to social media for some assistance.
“I posted pictures of the house and the garage, with the address, on the Facebook site ‘I grew up in Huron, South Dakota and damn proud of it!’” she said. “And a picture of the quilt. I guess I hoped someone would recognize the house, know who may have lived there and would share the information. But I didn’t know.”
That was on Oct. 21. The response was more than she could have expected. Dozens of people were commenting what they recalled and even more people were sharing Jeanine’s post.
Brenna Bowerman-Stark also grew up in Huron, and is a 2005 HHS graduate. She is a real estate photographer in Springfield, Mo., an area to which she moved after graduation.
When she checked her Facebook on Oct. 22, she was inundated with messages from friends of hers and those of her mother, pointing out the address with the same question: Didn’t you grow up there?
She had.
“I lived there with my mom and stepdad,” Brenna said. “My mother’s name was Melanie Haugen and my stepdad was Lee. Mom was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in September of 2004, only nine months after her diagnosis.”
After Melanie’s passing, Brenna and her twin brother, Bryan, moved in with her mother’s sister and lived there through graduation. She had planned to attend SDSU, but plans change. An opportunity to live with a family member and attend school in Missouri was too good to pass up. Brenna left Huron the summer after graduation.
“Brenna sent me a private message the next morning,” Jeanine said.
“I was forwarded your posting on the Huron page by multiple friends, in regards to a quilt you found at a rummage sale. I am almost certain that the woman who spent the time making that quilt was my mother, Melanie Haugen. The house pictured in your post is the one I grew up in and I am very familiar with it.”
Jeanine shared that Brenna told her Lee remarried, later passing away as did his spouse. The folks in charge of cleaning out the house had no knowledge or connection to anyone from more than a decade earlier.
“We never had the opportunity to claim any of Mom’s things after her passing,” Brenna said. “I had a photo of her with another quilt she made and shared that with Jeanine. I told her that I really appreciated her posting and sharing the quilt that Mom spent so much time making.”
Brenna said, thinking back to that conversation, that it was almost like her Mom was overseeing the process. “Mom had wanted ‘Dust in the Wind’ played at her funeral service,” Brenna recalled. “When my wife sent a message to Jeanine, with some details to demonstrate that we were who we said were, ‘Dust in the Wind’ came on the radio as she was leaving for work.”
Jeanine got Brenna’s address, folded the bulky quilt for one final time and put it in the mail.
“I stayed in touch with Brenna, letting her know when I mailed it and shared tracking information,” Jeanine said. “It was, ironically, scheduled to arrive the Saturday that they were hosting their wedding reception.”
Unfortunately, delivery didn’t take place until the Monday after the reception. “It would have been so great to have it arrive when all of my brothers and sister were there,” Brenna said. “It worked out in the end though.”
She said her niece Skylar, who was there for the reception, was scheduled to fly out on that Monday. “In fact, when we dropped her off at the airport, I got a notice that the quilt had been delivered.”
Brenna said she got home, opened the package, and for the first time held the quilt her mother had pieced together more than 20 years before. Someone with no connection to her family had rescued the quilt, finished it and then took the additional steps to find a family member and return it to them.
A short time later, Brenna got a call from Skylar. Skylar’s flight had been delayed and she ended up staying two more days.
“She is my mom’s first grandchild and the only one born before Mom passed,” Brenna said. “She slept under her grandma’s quilt both nights she stayed with us.”
“I do believe this is one of the final things she made,” Brenna said. “When Jeanine sent the photo it was familiar to me. Mom was always making something. Knitting, making candles – a lot of different things. And sewing and quilting.”
She added that an aunt suggested the quilt become a “traveling quilt,” moving among Melanie’s five children and their children. “But nothing is decided yet. Right now, I am just enjoying the quilt.”
“I just feel good about this,” Jeanine said. “We need to be kind – nobody knows what people are going through. I just feel that we can all help somewhere. I am glad that the quilt is back in the hands of the family of the person who made the quilt top and they will have it to love and cherish forever.”
When arrangements were underway to ship the heirloom, Brenna offered to pay for the postage, but Jeanine declined.
“I told her that she could consider it a wedding gift from her mom – and from me.”
“We’ve stayed in touch,” Jeanine added. “I hope that we can meet at some time.”
Brenna described how it feels to have a piece of her mother’s creation.
“Oh it’s perfect,” she said. “It’s big and it’s cozy. And it’s perfect.”
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Good morning KELOLAND. We are following several breaking weather headlines across the region. 100mph winds have created numerous reports of damage in and around Rapid City. Several communities West River have reported winds over 80mph this morning.
Take a look at some of the damage near Pringle, SD. There are many reports of property damage.
This is video from our Rapid City LIVE Cam as of 5am as 80-90mph winds were being reported.
Here are some of the storm reports as of 7am. Keep checking back for new updates. We will be updating this story frequently through the morning.
This is viewer video on uSHARE from Rapid City overnight. You can see the power flashes on the horizon.
Here’s a look at the wind gust map as of 5am. 80-100mph wind gusts have been common.
Meanwhile, snow and near blizzard conditions have been developing farther north and east. Take a look at this video from Eureka from earlier this morning.
More camera video below from Miller as of 7am, showing us what is looks like out there in KELOLAND.
Winter weather advisories have been posted for many areas north of Sioux Falls because of the strong winds and snow squalls. Expect near white-out conditions from time to time while the snow is moving through.
You can see how fast the weather is changing on the radar and satellite map below. Temperatures will be falling quickly with these bursts of snow East River.
Take a look at the wind forecast in the video below. The worst of the wind is moving east of Rapid City now, but Sioux Falls will see increasing winds today of 50-60 mph at times. Any snow that falls will get blown around by the strong winds.
Here’s an overview of Futurecast. You can see see the snow showing up over the blizzard and advisory areas in eastern KELOLAND today.
Now, take a closer look at the hour-by-hour forecast in the video below.
The forecast today calls for strong winds and falling temperatures through the day.
Most of the snow in Sioux Falls will melt by Christmas Day.
BROOKINGS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The President of the South Dakota NAACP is happy to explain what she’s wearing.
Nieema Thasing voluntarily wears the Khimar for modesty and reflection of her beliefs. For the first time in years, she took it off before leaving the house.
“In 25 years, never had my husband tell me it would be better if I didn’t wear my stuff. I listened to him and didn’t. I felt really naked. I am being prudent.” said Thasing.
Brookings resident Tasiyagnunpa Barondeau is noticing other ethnic groups assimilating how they appear in public.
“People stop wearing cultural things or things that might speak to not being part of the white majority culture right now.” said Barondeau.
The City of Brookings acknowledged Operation Prairie Thunder’s scheduled time in their town December 17th to the 19th.
Their statement continued: “The City of Brookings will not be participating in these operations.”
Governor Rhoden responded in a statement of his own: “For security reasons, we are not going to comment on operational specifics. It’s unfortunate that the City of Brookings would jeopardize an anti-crime operation and put the safety of our officers at risk by publishing this information. In South Dakota, we enforce the rule of law.”
Barondeau questions, just exactly how many law enforcement officials are needed to consider the area “safe” with three branches of law enforcement already in town.
“Brookings Police, we have the campus police for SDSU and then we also have the Sheriff’s Department right here in Brookings as this county seat. I just don’t understand why Brookings I and I think I am not alone in that.” said Barondeau.
Thasing believes it’s because of the percentage of minorities.
“Highly melanated persons that are working in dairies and working different places, this is an escalation of what happened back in the 60s. There are no dogs or hoses; there are dog whistles.” said Thasing.
She questions the intention of Prairie Thunder.
“Causing people to be fearful. And I believe that’s the whole understanding and the idea behind it.” said Thasing.
Some Brookings residents have spoken with attorneys to better understand the rights of those stopped or questioned by ICE.
“Just staying vigilant and calm. We are not here to obstruct justice. There are trained legal observers now in our area that are aware that this is happening and are going to make themselves available should they need to.” said Barondeau.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
Part 2 of a 3-part series.
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.
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.
Still images tend to clear officers
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 2022, the Rapid City Police Department took the unusual step of inviting local media to privately view body camera footage showing the shooting of Barney Leroy Peoples Jr., who was killed after pointing a rifle at officers. The video was not released to the public, and the shooting was ruled justified by the state.
“This was done for public interest and public safety to dispel a false narrative circulating on social media that could have led to civil unrest,” spokesman Brendyn Medina wrote in an email to News Watch.
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.
Federal agency released SD shooting video
In general, the federal government provides more public access to police videos than states like South Dakota, and that access was expanded in a May 2022 executive order from President Joe Biden.
That order included a requirement to expedite public release of videos from officers’ body-worn cameras. As a result, in October 2022, the U.S. Department of Interior issued a new policy that required federal officers to wear body cameras and sought to make it easier and faster for the media and public to obtain videos captured by federal authorities.
Due in part to that policy, 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.
“The community briefing video is intended to help members of the community gain a better understanding of what occurred,” the BIA said in a release. “We are committed to being transparent with our community.”
Privacy a top concern for agencies
Rapid City police do not routinely release department videos, largely due to privacy concerns of anyone captured in the footage, said Medina, the department spokesman.
“Much of the information collected by (body-worn cameras) is confidential and involves personal information, including that of victims, juveniles, and vulnerable individuals involved in critical and traumatic incidents,” Medina wrote in an email. “It’s important to note that we have had requests from victims and families specifically not to release photos or videos of their encounters with police. Additionally, juvenile and victim information is protected by state statute.”
Almost all states that allow for public video releases do so with caveats that privacy issues and often concerns over protecting prosecutions are met prior to release.
Rapid City shares the management of its video program with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, which recently spent about $48,000 to buy 68 Axon body cameras, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Helene Duhamel.
The Sioux Falls Police Department has an extensive video policy that does not typically allow for public release of videos, said Sgt. Aaron Benson.
“Granting public access to dash and body camera video potentially involves numerous issues relating to the rights of all persons in those videos. These rights include but are not limited to general privacy concerns of victims, suspects, witnesses and others, to statutory and constitutional rights of those same individuals,” Benson wrote in an email. “Additionally, release of video can detrimentally affect ongoing investigations, prosecutions and other legal matters related to those videos.”
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.”
Assistant police chief on body cam: ‘I enjoy wearing it’
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.”
The Yankton Police Department bought new cameras last year at a cost of about $80,000, he said.
Rothenberger said that while he is aware of South Dakota public records laws that do not require the department to release videos to the public, he said he personally would support the release of videos in a high-profile or controversial case.
“I’m only speaking for myself, but I would never hide anything like that,” Rothenberger said. “That’s not up to me. … (But) releasing that stuff, it’s good that agencies release things when something has gone wrong and they are being transparent.”
Read part 1 of the 3-part series:
Police videos in SD: Public pays costs but cannot see footage As more states begin to provide public access to videos captured by law enforcement agencies, South Dakota continues to keep a tight lid on them.
Publishing Friday, Dec. 19, part 3: A 2020 legislative effort to regulate body camera videos never made it to a vote, maintaining South Dakota’s national reputation for law enforcement secrecy
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they’re published. Contact content director Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.
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