"The Next Generation: Breaking Fentanyl's Grip" is an hour long special airing tonight at 7:00 PM on KELOLAND TV. Our parent company Nexstar is set to run the special in cities across the country this evening. The program explores the impact of the nationwide fentanyl crisis and features many famili es impacted by the deadly drug, including our own Angela Kennecke. "Nexstar did its original special Losing a Generation in September and it had such an overwhelming response, I was told it had more than a million views, and they wanted to do a follow up. So they invited all of the parents who were interviewed separately to come together. And we came together in Dallas and we did a round table where they asked us questions about what we though were solutions to the crisis, where we thought we were right now and what we should be doing," said Kennecke. Bikers getting ready to ride In 2024 South Dakota was on of 5 states to see an increase in overdose deaths while the rest of the country saw about a 24 percent decrease. Kennecke says there may be a simple reason. "These trends really start on the coasts and they work their way into the middle of the country. And there have been more proactive measures to get Naloxone out on the east and west coats to get it everywhere, get it for free. We are working on that at Emily's Hope but we are a little bit behind the rest of the country in those things." said Kennecke Kennecke says as this part of the country catches up, and more people get access to Naloxone - which counteracts opioids - she expects the number of overdose deaths to go down in Keloland. To raise awareness among young people, Emily's Hope is inviting students enter their artwork in a contest. You can learn more about the Emily's Hope Youth Art Competition by following the link below. Emily’s Hope Youth Art Competition Emily’s Hope Youth Art Competition ...read more read less