Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day to honor the Civil Rights leader who used nonviolence to dismantle racism, work for justice and create racial equity in our community. Paul Slack, a social justice advocate for Lutheran Social Service shares his reflections about this day, and invites us to consider ways we can continue the important work of Dr. King.

He calls himself a born sideman, and he’s been sought after for his sax playing in Minnesota for well over a half century. Fresh from high school, David Karr toured with a big band and then performed for American GIs during the Korean War. In 1954 he moved from to York to Minneapolis to study music at the University of Minnesota. Since then, David Karr has been a go-to sax player in the Twin Cities area. One of the players he most greatly admires was Jerry Mulligan, and he told Phil Nusbaum why.

Film publicist Peter Schilling talks about the Sundance Film Festival screenings at Riverview Theater, a series celebrating books turned into film/tv, and new screenings at the Trylon Cinema.

Theresa Stets is a Step Up Youth Services Manager for AchieveMpls. Step Up is a program that places students in Minneapolis ages 14-21 in summer internships. The application window is now open.

Craig Rice from the MSP Film Society talks about several new offerings in their Virtual Cinema.

The International Bluegrass Music Association has started a grant program whose goal is to encourage people of color to play bluegrass. The program is open to organizations and individuals, and the deadline date this first round is Jan 31, 2021. Phil Nusbaum, host of Bluegrass Saturday Morning, interviewed Nancy Cardwell and Richard Brown about the program, called The Arnold Shultz Fund.

Dr. Peter Zelles is a clinical psychologist in St. Paul. He talks about COVID-19 and mental health.

State Climatologist Luigi Romolo talks about the top 5 weather events of 2020 as voted on by Minnesota residents.

Margo Ashmore is the publisher of the Northeaster Newspaper and provides an update on news in NE Mpls.

Ben Abrahamson is a finger-style guitarist with a knack for integrating multiple world and personal styles into his own playing. In an interview with Phil Nusbaum, Ben told of his first major influence, Leo Kotke.