If you find yourself within earshot of Pipestone, Minnesota, and the radio dial lands on 98.7, you'll likely hear the unmistakable voice of Mylan Ray.

The Slayton, Minnesota native is in his 50th year on the radio.

"It's a great creative outlet, gives me a chance to have some fun with an awful lot of things and as my wife pointed out some time ago, I have one of those really, really rare jobs where I get compliments on a regular basis," radio personality Mylan Ray said.

Mylan has spent the past 48 years spinning oldies on KISD, but also hosts Christian and Country shows on other stations owned by Christensen Broadcasting.

"One of the things that I've always liked doing was turning somebody on to a brand new song. I liked doing that even when I was a teenager, somebody would come over to my house and visit and I'd so 'oh, you've got to listen to this' and I'd put a record on the turntable and just really enjoy getting somebody onto a new artist or a new song," Ray said.

He also enjoys meeting the artists, always has.

"I was always so jealous of Dick Clark when I would watch him on American Bandstand. I'd go 'he knows these guys, he talks about them like they were over at his house last night', and I would really like to get to know some of these artists and let the know how much their music has meant to me," Ray said.

"He's met a lot of entertainers in country music and rock and roll, and he really knows his business," South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Myron Wachendorf said.

Myron Wachendorf was a junior at Washington High School in 1958 when he stated playing music.

"I think I was born at the right time, when rock and roll was just getting a good start," Wachendorf said.

Wachendorf worked as a caddy at Minnehaha Country Club, leading to the creation of Myron Lee and the Caddies. A member of the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Myron is a longtime friend of fellow inductee, Mylan.

"He's a talented guy. I can see why he lasted all this time. That's a rough business, that radio business can be tough," Wachendorf said.

"I've had some well-meaning friends say how did you ever end up in three halls of fame and I said, 'location, location, location'," Ray said.

The list includes the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing just how far Ray's voice carries.

"It's amazing with our 98 Days of Summer contest that we have how far out the listeners are. We get quite a few that are calling in from the Arnolds Park, Iowa area and that's over two hour drive away from here, so I never take any of that for granted," Ray said.

His impact is felt beyond radio.

"I've done over 2,000 dances and every now and then I'll go in some place and they'll say 'you're Mylan Ray, aren't you?' and I'll go, 'yeah'. They go 'you did my wedding dance 28 years ago," and I'm just going that's great," Ray said.

"Mylan was always doing his own thing, and we let him do his own thing here. He's a wonderful professional and organized to the T," General Manager and Part Owner Collin Christensen said.

General Manager and Part Owner Collin Christensen has worked at the radio station since he was 15, but his time there dates back even further.

"I would come as a child and play in the attic, and Mylan was already here and he was already a very good professional radio advertise executive and on-air personality," Christensen said.

Decades later, turntables and CD's have given way to digital formats. Christensen says Ray always adapts, but still has his favorites.

"There's a turntable here and he loves to use it, and we put it in just for him when we re-did the studios here a couple years ago, but everything is digital and he has embraced that," Christensen said.

"It's a glass mixer they call it, there's really no buttons to push. You do up the sliding thing and it's like touch screen on a computer, so radio has changed quite a bit," Ray said.

Ray says he manages to bring something new to the radio every day by getting out of the studio, which wasn't the case in his early days.

"Always in the studio, in my office, I never got out and saw anybody, so getting out and seeing people and being a part of a lot of things that are going on, whether it be a car show or something along those lines I get a chance to really find out what's going on," Ray said.

As for when Mylan will finally hang up the headphones…

"Former boss, owner here, I saw him a few months ago and he said I was lucky that I still had my voice, and I do not take that for granted either, but I think I'm going to continue to do it as long as Keith Richards and Willie Nelson do," Ray said.

And it's a question he's asked multiple times a day.

"They say, 'do you think about retiring?' Yeah, every morning when the alarm goes off at 4:15," Ray said.

"I hope he keeps working forever, I do," Christensen said. "But, I think he loves being on the air so much that he'll stick with it for, I hope, a long time yet," Christensen added.

Until then, it's not a goodbye, it's a see you…

"LATER…" Ray said.

When people say Ray sounds like a disc jockey straight out of the 1950's and 60's, he chuckles and says it makes him feel old. You can hear Mylan on KISD radio weekday mornings from 6:00 to 9:00.

But one businessman in Yankton is working hard to bring back a city staple that closed it's doors three years ago.

The Yankton Mall has sat almost completely empty since 2020.

"We never anticipated that. The only problem that had been three years ago was businesses kind of coming and going. But nothing like what happened when COVID hit. That just ended it right then," Doug Sall said.

Doug Sall works at the Carpenter's Shop, a Christian bookstore owned by his wife. He says once the pandemic hit, the previous owners of the mall closed the main front doors and never unlocked them again. The only reason this store survived was because they decided to move to a spot in the mall with its own outdoor entrance.

"But in the meantime, the few remaining stores, businesses that had been here all left," Sall said. "With the exception of the sporting goods store on the north end and a tavern over in the corner on the southwest side. We were the only people here. And it remained that way for over three years."

But now the mall is in its comeback era thanks to Matt Evans.

"I think that I kind of have a savior complex, a little bit. So I really like to rescue things and help the community or whatever it takes," Evans said.

Evans began the process of buying the 260,000 square-foot mall a year ago.

"I fought hard for it. We had a lot of dead ends, a lot of bumps and curves, basically. I just kept fighting for it," Evans said.

In June of this year, he could finally call himself the owner of the mall -- now renamed to Event Central. And Evans hit the ground running to bring the space back to life. The first step? Re-opening the movie theater.

"I think it was like three weeks we did the entire remodel, all new systems, everything in the movie theater and we're up and running," Evans said.

Cinema Magic welcomed in a line of people to watch the latest movie releases on July 28th.

"There's no reason Yankton can't have a theater. There's way smaller towns that have theaters so I felt it was a necessity to get this here first. And then we'll just keep on going," Evans said.

The next project is opening up a restaurant beloved to Yankton residents and beyond -- Jo Dean's. Evans bought the name and recipes of the popular steakhouse.

"It's going to take awhile to rebuild the kitchen and everything else, but Jo Dean's will soon be in the mall," Evans said.

The movie theater, Jo Dean's and a future daycare center are all part of phase one of the mall project.

Phase two will be the other end of the mall. Evans says there's already interest from businesses wanting a spot in there.

"All those people that have their business that they either want to grow it or even start it, this is the chance. To have a discounted rent rate and we can just keep it going," Evans said.

Evans hopes future businesses can work together to create a community in the mall.

"For instance, we have a pizza place that wants to come in here. If the pizza place can help the play care or play day have pizza parties for birthday parties and stuff, those businesses will work together," Evans said. "If we can get away from the mall mentality of ten clothing stores in one place fighting over the same customers and have businesses that help each other within one building, I believe that's how we're going to be successful."

Three years ago, Evans never imagined he'd be fighting to bring the mall back better for the city he loves.

"I get goosebumps multiple times a day from this happening. I feel like I'm still dreaming, like how am I here? Three years ago I was still working at my dad's shop and now I'm here," Evans said. "It's great. It's great for me, it feels great, it's great for Yankton and I think we just keep going. Keep building the dream."

Evans says he couldn't have made this dream a reality without the support of his wife Amber and kids Eli and Ivy.

Keeping the streets and sidewalks clean is just one of the many tasks for a downtown Sioux Falls ambassador.

"It's safety. It's sanitation. It's beautification," Downtown ambassador Martin Dill said.

From watering flowers to answering visitors' questions, the ambassadors help make the downtown area a more welcoming place.

"It's very rewarding. It's probably the best job I've ever had as far as how much I enjoy it," Dill said.

Of course, the job isn't exactly glamorous. It also comes with trash duty and occasionally removing graffiti.

"A big part of what we do is of course cleaning up dog waste and stuff like that. Every once in a while some of our revelers in the downtown have a little bit too much fun and sometimes leave us a little deposit of their merry-making on the sidewalk later, so things like that do happen," Dill said.

The ambassadors also help people in need, such as the homeless, by connecting them with resources in town.

"In the past we've given people rides, maybe over to the Bishop Dudley or maybe up to the Link for a little nap and some detox," Dill said.

The crew in red covers about a square mile.

No matter what brings you to the downtown area, the ambassadors are there to lend a hand.

"Whether they are a visitor, a resident, a business owner, or someone that's maybe unhoused, there's a lot of different stakeholders in downtown, so the ambassadors are there to serve as a first point of contact and even a liaison in many ways for the various stakeholders," DTSF president Joe Batcheller said.

The downtown ambassador program launched in 2021.

Dill was the first ambassador.

Today there are five on the job, and there are plans to hire a few more.

"I try to explain to people, I'm like look, 'It's got some difficult parts. It's not always easy, but your job is to basically work outside, walk around, and be nice to people,'" Dill said.

"Downtown can sometimes be an intimidating place for someone who comes from a small town. It can be maybe inhospitable for certain folks and this is a way for us to make it kinder, friendlier when they come downtown in many ways," Batcheller said.

Nancy Savage owns Child's Play Toys on Phillips Avenue.

She says the ambassadors are making a difference.

"I just love having them. We're so lucky that we have them down here. It has been a huge change to the whole atmosphere downtown having them down here," Child's Play Toys owner Nancy Savage said.

"Your city center is kind of the heartbeat and lifeline of what you have going on in your town and we've got a great one," Dill said.

The ambassador program is funded by the Downtown Sioux Falls Business Improvement District.

The ambassadors are contracted through a company called Block by Block.

If you'd like to apply for the job, click here.

Breinna spent time in the ICU followed by months of rehab. Her family is calling her recovery nothing short of a miracle. Now Breinna wants all rally-goers to stay safe and steer clear of the medical ordeal she's had to endure.

Playing a simple game of dominoes with her parents marks another sign of progress for Breinna Grace.

"I'm very thankful to be where I'm at," Breinna said.

Playtime can be therapeutic for someone who's gone through so much.

"Just trying to keep that improvement going," Breina said.

Breinna was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her former boyfriend that collided with a car on the east side of Sioux Falls in May of 2022.

"I had just bought a full-face helmet right before my accident, I went head-first into a car, I believe," Breinna said.

The crash left Breinna with severe brain damage.

"It was a Jello-effect brain damage just from getting thrown. My brain just bounced around," Breina said.

Breinna still deals with the effects of the stroke she suffered as a result of the crash.

"When I smile, you can tell this side doesn't quite come up all the way like it used to," Breinna.

Yet, Breinna still smiles through it all. Including 25 surgeries since the crash, and more procedures in the future.

"Can you imagine having 25 surgeries?" Breinna's mom Julie Grace said.

Early on, Breinna's parents didn't think she'd survive.

"We're about ready, getting to a point where we just about unplugged, because of the damage and everything we were hearing. And we had one doctor that said keep believing," Julie Grace said.

So the family kept on believing. And their faith, along with Breinna's fortitude, resulted in a remarkable recovery.

"I had to relearn like short-term memory, improving that. A lot of that stuff, like cognitive. Things you, honestly, I took for granted before," Breinna said.

"It's like when I grow up, I want to be like Bre. She's driven, she looks at the high side. There's lows, but she's always looking at the high side," Julie Grace said.

Breinna had to be fitted with a breathing tube during her recovery, and scarring around her airway prevented her from talking for ten months.

"And my recovery nurse, I was talking to her the whole time. She was so nice, just listening. I told her I hadn't talked for ten months and she told, like, one of the other nurses in the recovery room, that nurse came by and she goes like ten months?! It's like, yeah," (laughs) Breinna said.

Breinna does her physical therapy from home now and that includes going on long walks throughout the neighborhood to build up her strength and stamina; finding triumph in every step forward.

"So it's definitely been a process of adapting. Adapting is a huge thing. Just getting used to what you do have," Breinna said.

Breinna credits wearing her helmet for saving her from suffering any spinal injuries.

"Helmets, they do a lot. I can't imagine where I'd be if I didn't have a helmet. I don't think I'd be here. I really don't," Breinna said.

Breinna got her motorcycle license shortly before her crash. Now she never plans to ride again. While she understands the freedom of the open road that lures so many bikers to Sturgis, she hopes they never forget their helmets.

"Don't just get happy because it's the Sturgis Rally and everyone's out there riding. Be smart with your choices," Breinna said.

Breinna turned 21 in May. She had to put her career goals on hold during her hospitalization and rehab. Once she's healthy enough, she plans to pursue a career in speech therapy, inspired by the therapists who helped her during her recovery.

 Barbara Rasmussen moved to Sioux Falls with her husband and kids two months ago.

"My husband and I wanted to get out of southern California and live in the country and have lots of space, but we still have two young kids that need friends and need community. And so this was just a great balance between what we were all looking for, as a family," said Barbara Rasmussen, Cherry Lake Neighborhood resident.

When making the big move, finding the right location was a top priority.

"So it is pretty great, we have a dock down there and it's been fun to watch the wildlife. There are geese, some bullfrogs we've seen, my son's been down fishing and then also the trail we've been enjoying doing morning walks out on the trail that goes around the lake," said Rasmussen.

According to The City of Sioux Falls, nearly $2 billion in building permit valuations were logged last year which is a 75% increase from 2021. Contractors also say they've seen an influx of home buyers wanting houses near or on lakes.

"So it's been a popular development here and I've seen it all over Sioux Falls and in outlying areas too. People like to feel like they're not being cramped by their neighbors, but still have the community feel with their neighbors," said Doug Top, founder of Top Construction.

Doug Top started Top Construction in 2005 and says land in Sioux Falls near bodies of water is bought up quickly.

"You can't put a dollar amount on something like that. So if that's what you really want to do, keep your eyes open and jump early at these lots, because right now with the demand on the lots, there's not a lot of them out there," said Top.

One place under construction for about a year was listed for roughly $2 million on the west side of town.

The house on Cherry Lake is scheduled to be in the parade of homes next month. Although this property is already spoken for, many like this one have home buyers showing interest.

Top says builders are also making man-made bodies of water to meet the demand.

"So you're seeing a lot more developments that they're actually making their own lakes where they'll dig out an area for example, a lot of this lake out here at Cherry Lake was a sandpit and, they mined a lot of sand out here," said Top.

As for the future developments in Sioux Falls, Top says you will likely see more homes being built like the ones on Cherry Lake.

"I think as the city grows will be more and more spots. I know the east side has got a few that are coming up real soon that are going to be some nice executive lots," said Top.

For those currently looking, he advises you don't wait.

"If you really want a piece of land that's on water and you see one you like, you better go for it," said Top.

As for the amenities that come with property near lakes, outdoor activities are popular among residents.

"It's super nice to live in a safe neighborhood that we can actually send our kids out on their bikes and just say, 'go ahead, go ride your bike,' and that there's a playground nearby there's the beach. It's been really enjoyable living here," said Rasmussen.

The Sioux Empire's Fall Parade of Homes hosted by the Home Builders Association will start next month.

This project has been going on since the summer of 2020 and continues to grow.

Each year just outside of Sturgis at the Tilford exit, Wyatt Dennis and his family hand out free lemonade and provide events such as a poker run.

"It's actually kind of fun, seeing all the bikes, meeting all the people, and seeing where everybody's from," Wyatt's lemonade Creator Wyatt Dennis said.

All you need to do is pull up and Wyatt will greet you with a smile and a cup full of lemonade.

"It's really easy, you can just pull up, maybe introduce yourself. You don't have to give a donation but they are appreciated," Wyatt Dennis said.

While our news crew was at the stand, over 20 bikers came to enjoy lemonade and even put pins on a map to show where they rode in from.

"I thought it was an awesome thing that he does every year. We've been out here for about four years and I've always wanted to come out so this year we finally made it out. And the proceeds go to St.Judes which we donate each month to, so I'm very thankful for Wyatt," Rally Biker Debbie Levatino said.

A free lemonade stand that once started out as just wanting to buy a new set of Legos has transformed into this awesome event where they donate money to St.Judes all through free lemonade. And they're here all rally long every year and so far they have raised over $53,000 coming into this year's Sturgis Rally.

Organizations like Biker Dad, Biker Justice and others help donate to the cause but they aren't the only ones. Wyatt's Lemonade has more than a dozen different businesses supporting him year-round.

"The shed was built by the Eagle Riders and Scull Construction helped with that. We have a new pavilion for shade, so it's just really neat to see everyone wanting to come together and to have a part in it and to help what's going on here," Wyatt's Mom Robin Dennis said.

Wyatt's mom wants to let the lemonade stand be a teachable lesson as well.

"You save for whatever you have coming up, for him right now it's college. And then you spend on bills or what you have to pay and what you want. And once you're taken care of, you need to help give back and take care of somebody else," Robin Dennis said.

When asked why he wants to help St. Jude, the answer for Wyatt was pretty simple.

"Well I wanted to help kids and one of my mom's friends ran for St.Judes so I decided to pick St.Judes. It makes me feel happy that I'm making kids happy," Wyatt Dennis said.

Wyatt's Lemonade Stand is a mainstay during the Sturgis Rally and even pops up at different events around the Black Hills throughout the year.

If you would like to help out Wyatt and his goals, you can click here for more information.

It might have more to do with the 30 caliber machine gun sticking out front.

Don Cooper loves cars, old, new, slow fast, his collection of classics includes this 1960 Cadillac Deville.

A few years ago he came across a deal he couldn't refuse for another vehicle.

"A fellow called me and offered it to me at a bargain price," said Cooper.

That bargain price got him this..

Cooper is the proud owner of this armored car which he keeps in Tea.

Small in stature but big on weight, almost five tons, this is a Ferret.

"This has a Rolls Royce 6-cylinder engine, gasoline," Cooper said opening the engine compartment.

The Ferret is a British made armored scout car produced shortly after WWII. It has seen service around the world.

"This particular one spent its whole life patrolling the Berlin Wall, so there is a lot of history here it hasn't seen any combat as such but a lot of history," said Cooper.

"Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall" crowd cheers.

The Berlin Wall separated Soviet supported communist countries from the west between the end of WWII until 1989.
Cooper isn't sure how this vehicle ended up in the U.S.

We wanted to know more, so we reached out to the Tank Museum located in southern England.

The Ferret was made by the Daimler company of Great Britain which made about 4,400 of them.

Museum Curator David Willey says speed and stealth are the Ferret's best attributes.

"It's small, it's very nimble, quite fast, I'm sure he's very sensible when he drives it the private owner, but that idea that if it met something you can back off quick," said Willey.

Produced by the British Daimler company between 1952 and 1971, the Ferret can go just as fast in reverse as it can going forward. Willey understands why Cooper treasures it.

"I bet the owner thinks every time, we all do this don't we if are private owners of classic cars or vehicles, you open the garage door and you fall in love again don't you every time you do that and there is something rather cute about a Ferret as well. I know it sounds a stupid thing to say about military vehicles but it just looks about right slightly chunky tires nice and small but still looks like it would give you a nasty bruise if you go in the wrong place with it," said Willey.

Some are still in service in the Middle East and Africa.
Ferrets have been spotted in Ukraine as that country tries to repel a Russian invasion.

"We've seen imageries of Ferrets already out in Ukraine, that have been sold on, sometimes upgraded with a new weapon in the turret, but they are being used by the Ukrainians out there at the moment," said Willey.

For Don, owning the Ferret is just...fun.

"A lot of people take movies, they will pull up alongside with their camera and take movies as they go by, pull into a gas station to fill gas and its My god I've never seen anything like that! Where did you get that?"

This Ferret is street legal, it has turn signals, brake lights and is licensed in South Dakota.

"I had a highway patrolman chase me down one time when I was going to a parade and he came up once I got to the parade and said you didn't do anything wrong, I just want to look at it." laughs.

Don enjoys owning this rolling piece of history
He says when he's on the streets other drivers tend to give him a little extra room.

"I tell everybody when I drive this I don't have any problem with road rage."

Especially with the barrel of a 30-caliber machine gun sticking out the front.

We should let you know the real fully automatic machine gun has been removed. Cooper says the gun barrel is just for looks and doesn't fire.

"I lift a lot, I already go to a traditional gym, I guess you could say, so this is something to kind of supplement that and have a little change of pace and just have fun," Alyssa Winberg, a student at SD Aerial & Arts, said.

South Dakota Aerial and Arts opened in January of this year, giving students a chance to reach new heights in their fitness.

"We really wanted to create a safe space for adults, primarily, to learn aerial and just have something really dedicated to adhere," Katie Critzer, co-owner of SD Aerial & Arts said. "We really wanted to expand apparatuses, so we started with silks, which are the big fabrics and then we just added hoop. We've had a lot of specialty workshops to like acro-yoga, aerial yoga, hand-balancing."

Now you don't have to be a gymnast or dancer to take aerial classes, anyone can learn how to fly.

"Even people who are like, 'I have no flexibility, I have no upper body strength.' I had no upper body strength and I had very limited flexibility," Ashley Premer, co-owner of SD Aerial & Arts said. "You make pretty lines and you're like, 'Oh, that felt really ugly' and you see a picture and you're like, 'Oh I look great."

"I have never had someone who can't do at least 75 percent of the skills that we do in our first class. Because we want it to be challenging. We want you to want to come back to learn those things maybe you didn't get the first time, but everybody can do aerial in some capacity," Critzer said.

And while it looks different than the workouts you may be used to, there are still many benefits to aerials.

"It is very low impact, so people who have joint issues or say they're really tight in their back, flipping upside down can help decompress. It also works a lot on your core and your shoulders and your grip strength," Critzer said.

Another exercise option to reach new heights of fitness in Sioux Falls is rock climbing at Frontier Fitness. With up to 45 feet of walls and 50 different routes, there's ways that you can challenge yourself.

"If you're looking for a new way to kind of workout different body parts that you might not do when you hit the gym regularly, climbing is a great way for that. You know, get strong arms, strong hands," Aaron Kerkvliet, general manager at Frontier Fitness, said.

The benefits of rock climbing aren't just about strength, though. Kerkvliet says it also helps you improve your cardiovascular health and mental health.

"I do not like traditional exercise because it's just lifting or running in a circle. This one you get to think and use this like half brain, half muscle and stuff. It's just really fun," climber Phinehas Kroesch said.

It's also another option for all ages.

"We start people as young as two, sometimes younger all the way up to kind of as old as you can be to feel comfortable getting up the walls," Kerkvliet said.

Starting a new fitness journey can be scary. So you may not reach the top of the highest wall right away…

"We have different climbs that are good for any experience level. So if you've never climbed before and it is your first time in, we have something for you. If you've been climbing for ten years and you're very experienced, we have something for you as well," Kerkvliet said.

And you might not immediately spin down a silk with graceful ease, but everyone starts somewhere.

"I'm a mother, I started when my child was two and I was overweight, very high body fat percentage, had no upper body strength, no confidence. You just have to try," Premer said.

While his family is mourning his loss, they're also grateful for the time they've had with him the past few weeks, all thanks to the people they call angels at the scene.

"He's always been a truck driver," Melanie Brown said of her husband Dennis.

Since he was 16-years-old living in De Smet, driving a semi-truck has always been a part of Dennis Brown's life.

"He's driven five and a half million miles, never had an accident, never had a speeding ticket," Brown said.

But on July 12th,  Melanie got the phone call she never once expected in their 40 years of marriage while her husband was out on the road.

"A woman from the police station called and said, 'Are you Dennis Brown's wife? I need to let you know that your husband was in an accident,'" Brown said.

Just after noon that Wednesday, Dennis and another semi-truck crashed into each other in a construction zone on southbound I-35 just north of Faribault, MN, the severity of the crash quickly catching the attention of other drivers.

"They called 911 and said there had been an accident and they drove across to the other side of the interstate and ran to see if they could help. Someone had just said, we're pretty sure whoever was in that truck is probably gone. She walked up to the truck and heard him screaming for help. She said, 'This person is alive. We need to help him,'" Brown said.

The call for help was answered by many other drivers parked behind the crash scene on the interstate.

"Those are people that didn't even know my husband and they came running from every direction; they were the angels that saved him," Brown said.

The biggest challenge was trying to get Dennis out of the burning cab.

"I could see that there were people trying to get the drivers door open. And that there were flames showing and everything else," Rice County Deputy Nathan Hanson said.

Deputy Hanson was the first responder on the scene; he quickly learned Dennis was trapped inside.

"I remember him saying that he could not get out, someone telling him he needs to get out and him saying I can't," Hanson said.

Deputy Hanson worked with the team of good Samaritans on the scene to get him out.

"Motorists on the roadway, one had located a pry bar and was able to pry the driver's door open, I was able to use the fire extinguisher to knock down the flames that were inside the cab," Hanson said.

But once the fire extinguisher was out, it became a battle against time as the flames inside the cab grew.

"I know if I don't get him out of that truck, I knew he was going to die, that was driving point, pulling as hard as I could to get whatever was in there stuck dislodged and get him out," Hanson said.

DOT traffic cameras captured the moment they were finally able to pull him from the semi and drag him to safety.

"After I pulled him out, were able to get him over to the guard rail, cable barrier, I heard and explosion," Hanson said.

Seconds after pulling him out of the cab, you can see the cab of Dennis's semi erupt in flames.

"There was hardly any time to spare, if those women hadn't called 911 as fast as they did, if the sheriff hadn't responded as fast as he did, if those people hadn't started chipping at the door when they did, and people came to his rescue, it would have turned out totally different," Brown said.

Thanks to the quick actions of so many, Dennis was flown to the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Center.

"I just asked her if I could hear his voice, can I talk to him. And she said, just a minute, she handed him the phone and he said hi honey," Brown said of her phone call with police right before Dennis boarded the helicopter.

But after four surgeries, the strain became too much for the 79-year-old who passed away Friday after weeks fighting to recover.

"The important thing is that his family had a chance to say goodbye," Hanson said.

Conversations and special moments spent together that mean the world to his wife, three kids and seven grandchildren

"The final days before Dad passed we were able to spend it with him listening to his favorite music and watching his favorite movies and shows remembering all of the good times we had together and this is something that we will never forget. Time is something you will never get back and this is a good reminder to live each day to the fullest and love on your family and friends as life is too short," Brown's daughter Pamela Flynn said.

"It was truly a blessing to be able to see Dennis one more time, send him off to Heaven together and have that opportunity," his son Jeremy Brown said.

An opportunity all thanks to the interstate angels who helped pull Dennis to safety.

"I will forever be thankful for what those complete strangers did to save my dad," Flynn said.

"For these people to come to the rescue of a total stranger and that man named Nathan risked his life to reach in there and pull him out," Melanie Brown said. "I just can't say thank you enough...we are so truly grateful for what they did and I always say those are the true heroes, the angels that were the hands and feet of Jesus that day, they were here to help."

The Brown family is hoping to have all of the interstate angels who helped rescue Dennis come to his celebration of life at Gloria Dei in Sioux Falls on Friday, August 11th for a chance to thank them in person. In lieu of flowers, the Brown family is gathering donations for the Dennis Brown legacy fund at Firefighters for Healing.

In the Brandon Valley School District, the new year means the opening of a new addition to the high school.

As the marching band learns this year's routine, the east side of Brandon Valley High School is unusually quiet as construction winds down on a 35,000-square-foot expansion project.

"This addition will lead us for years into the future, decades I would say, in terms of space for students," Brandon Valley Superintendent Jarod Larson said.

The new addition includes 22 classrooms and three conference rooms.

"Our priorities were really very simple when the project started, number one was general classroom space, number two was ground floor special education space, and then obviously some specialized science," Larson said.

"We were running out of space at the high school here and so we knew we needed to put an addition on so we talked about a lot of different options and it made the most sense to go off the east side," Brandon Valley Principal Mark Schlekeway said.

High School Principal Mark Schlekeway says the new space also features smart rooms as part of a collaboration with Southeast Technical College.

"Professor might be in a different location and if I start speaking, like if I'm speaking in that classroom at this point one of the cameras in that room will zoom in on me and it will pick up my voice like I'm in the classroom at Southeast Technical College," Schlekeway said.

"They're like providing a lot more scientific classes that more students are able to enhance their educational experience," Brandon Valley senior Ian Candy said.

Candy is entering his senior year at Brandon Valley.

"I'm really just excited to have a bit more room to kind of breathe more because the hallways have been pretty cramped the past few years," Candy said.

Brandon Valley had more than 1,300 students last year and a capacity of 1,400. The expansion project will increase that number to about 2,000 for a district with an expanding population.

"It's been exponentially increasing over these past few years, especially with Sioux Falls also growing, a lot of people are coming from Sioux Falls into Brandon, so it's good to continue to build our community around that," Candy said.

"We paid for the project entirely out of capital outlay cash reserves, approximately $10-million project overall, that resulted in no additional tax burden on our patrons," Larson said.

"Our students and staff are going to benefit from that and it's vital for our success in the future as we look to expand programs, as we look to enhance the learning environment for our students," Schlekeway said.

One of the final steps in this project will be the addition of an athletic running surface in this hallway, paid for by the booster club.

"Growth can be challenging but we're excited to grow and we're excited to open the space," Schlekeway said.

A space that screams Brandon Valley.

"It's black and red and most certainly lets every single one of our students that walk through the door know that they are part of our Lynx family," Larson said.

And the kids are eager to see the finished product.

"They're chomping at the bit. We actually had to put some barriers up because everybody wants to see it, but they're going to love the end product. It's going to be something that we'll cherish and certainly value moving forward," Schlekeway said.

Even if back to school marks the unofficial end of summer.

"I'm ready (laugh)," Candy said.

The first day of school at Brandon Valley is Wednesday, August 23rd, but students will have an opportunity to walk through the new addition in the coming weeks.