TLN Productions, Inc., based in West Palm Beach, Florida, was a television production company active during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries that specialized in travel, outdoor recreation, and destination programming. The company produced and distributed a variety of television segments and series highlighting landscapes, communities, cultural heritage, and tourism opportunities throughout the United States. TLN Productions frequently collaborated with tourism agencies, local communities, and regional organizations to film locations and develop programming designed to promote travel and public interest in particular destinations.
Among the company’s projects was the travel series Discover America, a program that featured locations across the United States and introduced viewers to regional attractions, historic sites, natural landscapes, and recreational activities. Episodes and segments were filmed on location and incorporated interviews, scenic footage, and coverage of local cultural and tourism destinations. The series was created as a travel-promotion program intended to showcase the diversity of American regions and encourage tourism.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, TLN Productions filmed several segments in South Dakota for inclusion in the Discover America series. Filming documented communities, cultural sites, and recreational destinations across the state, including areas such as Lake Andes, Aberdeen, Fort Randall Casino, and locations associated with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. The footage captured landscapes, community events, tourism facilities, and regional attractions intended to highlight South Dakota as a travel destination.
The resulting recordings represent the production materials created during the filming of these segments. They document the work of TLN Productions in promoting regional tourism through television programming and provide visual documentation of South Dakota communities and attractions at the time of filming.
Valerian Three Irons is a Native American educator, oral historian, and advocate for Indigenous language preservation. He served as a professor of American Indian Studies and Associate for Diversity at South Dakota State University from 1997 to 2011. After leaving SDSU, Three Irons joined the faculty of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town, North Dakota, where he has been actively involved in teaching Native American Studies and supporting Mandan language revitalization efforts. In 2018, he received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to create a publicly accessible archive of Mandan language resources. Throughout his career, he has contributed to tribal education, cultural preservation, and service-learning initiatives.
Verl Thomson was a pioneering South Dakota broadcaster. Born on April 26, 1906, he began his career at Sioux Falls' first broadcast radio station in 1924. He later served as an announcer and program director for KSOO and KELO, and worked as an announcer for NBC in Chicago. In 1948, he established radio station KSID, which he operated until its sale in 1966. From 1962 to 1987, Thomson served as executive director of the South Dakota Broadcasters Association. He passed away on July 7, 1989.
Clark S. Thomas was born on December 8, 1917, in rural Springfield, South Dakota. He attended South Dakota State College from 1937 to 1941, earning a degree in agriculture. From 1941 to 1945, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, stationed at military posts in Texas and California, and overseas in Guatemala and India. Following his military service, he farmed near Springfield, South Dakota, until his retirement in 1980.
Joseph and Winifred (Catlett) Swering married in 1918. They began their newlywed life in Brookings, South Dakota, before moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Joseph worked for Westinghouse. They later relocated to Buffalo, New York. The Catlett family had built a large home in Brookings in 1902. While living there, both Winifred and her sister, Margaruite, held their weddings in the family home. The Catlett house also hosted many social events during the family's residence. Eventually, the home was converted into student housing for South Dakota State College.
Ora Blanche Fryer Swenning was born on February 23, 1882, in Michigan to John H. and Imogen Swenehart. As an infant, she moved with her family to a homestead near Clark, South Dakota, where she spent her early childhood. Her recollections of pioneer life and survival during the blizzard of 1888 were later preserved in a personal memoir. Ora spent her later years in Minnesota and passed away on February 5, 1972, in Pipestone.