Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO's 4 p.m. newscasts.

The summer months each have holidays that bring family and friends together for outdoor fun. Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick off to the season, followed by Independence Day in July, then Labor Day in September.

But the first Tuesday of August is a unique night meant for nothing more than connection with those living on your street and the people tasked to protect it: National Night Out, which is now in its 42nd year.

"Some of us even plan our schedules around it," said Deputy Chief Shari Falkowski of the St. Paul Police Department. "I've been doing it for 30 years and I absolutely love it."

What is the importance of National Night Out to police departments? It starts with the setting.

"The first thing is we're meeting people where they're at. So, we're actually being in their homes, in their driveways, in their community, in their space," Falkowski said.

That comfortable setting makes conversations with law enforcement easier and enlightening. Rather than having to attend a community safety meeting at a police precinct or recreation center, the meeting is basically in a person's front yard.

"It breaks down a lot of barriers," Falkowski said.

Matt Peskin believed that 40-plus years ago when he helped create the annual event. He's now the national project coordinator.

"NNO kind of represents the fabric of our country," Peskin said. "It was a product of the National Association of Town Watch. Town Watch is Crime Watch groups, Neighborhood Watch, had been around for a long time."

Despite those crime prevention groups existing, he felt there needed to be something bigger connecting them.

"The theory behind NNO way back in 1984 was, 'Hey, let's have this one night where everybody goes outside, puts their front porch lights on and it will show the unity.' It was extremely symbolic," Peskin said.

Four-hundred communities in 23 states participated in the first National Night Out. Today, it's up to 17,000 communities in all 50 states.

"When we saw the popularity, we started to add in the block parties and the cookouts and parades and the festivals and all the things that you see now," Peskin said.

And within all the sizzling summer fun is a reminder to keep safety and crime prevention top of mind.

"If we don't have those relationships, then we suffer because we need the community to be our eyes and ears," Falkowski said, emphasizing the importance of people calling 911 if they see something suspicious.

"It's hard to have someone looking out for you if you don't know them," Peskin said. "So step one, way back in the 1980s, was you got to know them. And now step two is like, 'Hey, I'm gonna be away for a day or two, can you keep an eye out?'"

If your neighborhood didn't celebrate National Night Out this year, here's a link to get registered for next year.