Aging Heroes Keep South Dakota’s EMS Alive | Pierre News

In South Dakota’s rural heartlands, aging EMS heroes like 83-year-old Gerald Frame and Jim Wallace are keeping emergency services alive—volunteering, teaching, and driving ambulances well past retirement age. Frame, a mechanic by trade and EMT for nearly three decades, adapts his role to stay active, while Wallace, also 83, travels across the state to train new EMTs and teach scuba diving. Their dedication masks a growing crisis: fewer young people are stepping in as rural communities struggle with low pay and demanding coursework. State lawmakers are now racing to create regional workforce pools and shared resources to prevent critical services from shutting down—before the next generation of responders disappears. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/80fe61c29c6a32ad