• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Megan Deal is a bit more thankful this holiday.
• The second-grade teacher from Pierre recently logged onto the South Dakota Treasurer's website and found out she had more than $800 coming in unclaimed property.
• "At first I was saying this cannot be for real," Deal said of the link emailed to her by a friend.
• Nothing came up when she checked her married name. But when she typed in her maiden name, two claims popped up from when she attended college in Spearfish.
• "Still I was very skeptical. Usually the state is wanting money, not giving money," Deal said.
• Since she lives in the state capital, she went to the Treasurer's office with identification, and the staff verified that, indeed, she was owed money for a paycheck she never cashed and a refund for Internet service.
• "So when I was in the Capitol building, the lady printed off a sheet and she slid it over and I looked down and (it said) 800 dollars. That's when the tears started coming," Deal said. "I couldn't imagine not picking up a paycheck when I was in college. I was a poor college student. What was I thinking?"
• Uncashed paychecks and refunds are among the top sources of unclaimed property, said Rich Sattgast, state treasurer. Other common items include savings and checking accounts, life insurance policies, overpayments or rebates and gift cards.
• Businesses, governments and other institutions must turn over such property to the state where they reside when the owner can't be found. In South Dakota, Sattgast's office then tries to find the owners and reunite them with their property.
• Technology has made that a lot easier. Now anyone can go to www.sdtreasurer.gov or download the mobile app by searching for "South Dakota treasurer," type in their name and even fill out a claim.

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