1. The deadliest tornado in South Dakota history struck on July 12, 1893, killing 9 people and injuring 80 others in the small town of Wessington Springs.

2. On July 12, 1918, South Dakota native and World War I flying ace Frank Luke Jr. shot down three enemy planes before being killed in action in France. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

3. In 1938, the iconic Mount Rushmore Memorial was dedicated on July 12, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt giving a speech to mark the occasion.

4. On July 12, 1962, the Belle Fourche irrigation project was completed. This massive project brought water to hundreds of farms and transformed the agricultural landscape of western South Dakota.

5. July 12, 1985, marks the date of the largest hailstone ever recorded in South Dakota. It measured 8 inches across and weighed nearly 2 pounds, falling near the town of Vivian during a severe thunderstorm.