Each of the hosts at Classical MPR recently made a list of his or her 10 favorite musical works. Take a look at those lists, and you’ll find many of the pieces you’d expect: Bach's Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 and Stephen Paulus’ “Pilgrim’s Hymn.”

But Garrett McQueen’s list is a little bit different. Pieces by Nina Simone, Duke Ellington and Valerie Coleman are all on it, along with selections of Beyoncé and The Fugees.

McQueen joined Minnesota Public Radio last summer. A classical bassoonist turned radio host, he’s committed to diversity in public radio and classical music. In his new podcast, Trilloquy, he and MPR colleague Scott Blankenship feature stories “from the fringes of classical music.”

McQueen joined Angela Davis to talk about his 10 favorite musical works, his new podcast and the intersection of race and classical music.

You don’t have to wait until the 2020 Presidential Election to vote. You can cast a ballot next week. Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day and there’s a wide range of races and issues voters in Minnesota can weigh in on.

There are city council members to elect, school board members to choose and school referendums to decide, and in the city of St. Paul there’s the trash collection debate that’s gone all the way to the state supreme court before returning to the voters and the ballot.

Off-year elections don’t get the voter turnout that presidential or statewide elections do, but this year there’s a lot of interest in what’s on the ballot in some cities.

Host Angela Davis previewed what’s on the ballot on Nov. 5 with three guests:

David Maeda, director of elections with the state of Minnesota.

Erin Golden, Star Tribune statewide education reporter.

Fred Melo, St. Paul City Hall Bureau Chief for the Pioneer Press.

#AskMPRNews What do you want to know about the election?

There's an election this year Here's what is on your ballot

How to vote and why it’s important

Voter turnout will really depend on the issues in your town, Maeda said. The St. Paul trash collection debate is expected to urge more voters to the polls.

St. Louis Park will be implementing ranked-choice voting this election — making it the third Minnesota city to do so, behind Minneapolis and St. Paul. So if you live in any of those cities, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with that process, Maeda said.

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You can find your polling place as well as a sample ballot at the Secretary of State’s website.

It’s too late to pre-register to vote, Maeda said, but you can still register at your polling place the day you vote. Click here for more information on how to do that.

It’s important that Minnesotans still come out and vote in odd-year elections even though there typically isn’t as much campaigning ...

The 6:15 a.m. alarm rings and you drag yourself out of bed. It’s dark. You pour the first cup of coffee to get out the door and into your car for work. It’s freezing — 9 degrees and windy.

The sun rises and sets while you sit in a cube 15 feet away from a window overlooking a strip mall.

Drive home and eat a plate of tater-tot hotdish and green beans. Think about going to the gym but it’s too cold. Stay in and have dessert. A glass of wine, maybe two, to fall asleep. Wake up and repeat.

If this sounds like a relatable wintertime routine, you’re not alone here in the north. However, there are plenty of good ways to avoid the cold weather blues and stay healthy.

Outside in MN Download our app with weather updates, events and outdoors guides

One of the best ways to keep riding the high of the summer is by continuing to go outside and stay active as you’re able.

Three experts joined MPR News host Angela Davis to offer their tips for maintaining health in the winter:

Erika Rivers is the Director of Parks for the Parks and Trails Division of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Dr. Ryan Hovis is a licensed psychologist with Headway Emotional Health.

Dr. Samuel Hanson Willis practices family medicine at Allina Health. He works out of the Greenway clinic in Minneapolis, which focuses on community health and innovation.

Stay hydrated. And drink less coffee and alcohol. Overindulging in alcohol or food is fairly common in the winter, Hovis said. People will self-medicate, but it’s only a short-term boost that comes with long-term detriment. Substitute the psychoactive beverages for water. Even though thirst is decreased in the cold, hydration is critical for the circulatory system and helps stave off frostbite.

Be mindful of your routines and plan to make them healthier. When it’s frigid out, Hovis said, “people often isolate from others and the cold keeps people confined.” That isolation can be bad for mental heal...

New Orleans-born jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard is much more than a musician.

Blanchard uses his craft to create conversations around issues of social justice.

He released an album titled “Breathless” – named in remembrance of Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe.”

He recorded another album in Minneapolis, Cleveland and Dallas, three cities where encounters with police and African Americans ended in shooting deaths.

And on Saturday, he will perform “Caravan: A Revolution on the Road” at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

He joined MPR News host Angela Davis from the Ordway to talk about “Breathless,” recording “Live” and his new performance “Revolution on the Road.”

Use the audio player above to listen to the segment.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

It’s mostly dark on Front Street in St. Paul, but an old storefront is lit up, almost buzzing with energy.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of ‘The Woke Olympics,’” Kazua Melissa Vang said with a booming voice. “The goal is simple: You tell us why you’re the ‘wokest’ person in the room and we’ll reward you for your labor.”

Vang and 10 other women then take turns trying to best one another. “I’m so woke I drive a Prius.” “I’m so woke I put a solar panel on my Prius.”

The women, who call themselves the Funny Asian Women Kollective, or FAWK, are rehearsing for a comedy skit they’ll perform Saturday at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. But they’re hoping to do more than make their audience laugh this weekend.

Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News

From left, Naomi Ko and John Vang record a video that will be used in Saturday's Funny Asian Women Kollective show at the Ordway.

“Audiences expect us to be this model minority,” said Naomi Ko, the group’s co-founder. “That assumption of us being submissive and quiet, and that we’re not political, that’s all really damaging for the way that female Asian comedic talent can perform.”

So Ko, along with May Lee-Yang and Saymoukda Vongsay, started FAWK in 2014 as a way to counter stereotypes about Asian women.

St. Paul comedy troupe wants to challenge your ideas about Asian women

by All Things Considered

It began with a series of comedy shows, then morphed into a series of workshops designed to empower Asian-American women. Saturday’s show will feature some of the women who went to those workshops and then joined the group as performers.

One of them is Monika Hetzler. She said working with the collective has been an affirming experience.

“Because I don’t necessarily — there are air quotes here — look Indian, it feels like there’s more that I need to do to prove [my ethnicity],” Hetzler said. “And so I do that through my comedy, bu...

About 1 in 4 Americans say they now belong to no religion. And a record number of teens and young adults are leaving the church altogether.

Researchers call them "religious nones.” They are made up of atheists, agnostics and the spiritual, and they all reject organized religion.

Three local faith leaders and a sociologist joined the conversation to explore why young people are no longer stepping foot inside a church and what the future of organized religion looks like in America.

Listeners also called into the program to share why they have given up on their religious institutions.

Guests:

Natalia Terfa, associate pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran church in Brooklyn Park

Brandon Gilliam, high school teaching pastor at Eagle Brook church

Vincenzo Randazzo, men’s evangelization manager at the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Josh Packard, associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Northern Colorado. He is a sociologist who has been studying dechurched people and wrote a book called: “Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith.”

Use the audio player above to listen to the segment.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Nick Ares | Flickr

The average debt for a U.S. student who graduated in 2018 is over $29,000. And we've all heard horror stories about how it can be much more. Two experts joined MPR News with Angela Davis to explain the student debt crisis and advice for college-goers.

The average U.S. college graduate leaves school with $30,000 in debt and, often, an uncertain plan for how to pay back the sum.

Of course, some students finish with no debt. Others wind up owing over $100,000 for their degree. You’ve likely heard the horror stories of people’s efforts to pay off their debt.

Paying 'until I die' Rochester teacher sees no end to student loan bills

More Minnesota nurse's student loan debt seeps into all facets of life

‘Bizarre and surreal’ A Minneapolis woman’s decades-long loan dispute

Perhaps you’ve heard of some success stories. But what are the tried-and-true methods for handling college debt?

Two experts joined MPR News host Angela Davis to explain the student debt crisis and advice for college-goers:

Brittany Tweed, director of financial aid for Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids and president of the Minnesota Association of Financial Aid Administrators

Shannon Doyle, program manager for Partnerships and Financial Education at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, as well as a certified financial counselor and certified student loan repayment counselor

“Students often have a fear of financial aid. It’s the unknown,” Tweed said, and some parents struggle to understand how their students’ loans work.

Here’s some of Tweed and Doyle’s advice:

1) Remember that colleges are businesses: “They are selling you on choosing their college,” Doyle said. So, no matter how nice folks are in the admissions office, their employer ultimately wants your tuition money.

2) Focus on your degree: Put less emphasis on a college’s p...

Debt is a burden that isn't going away for most college students. So how do you pay it off in a way that doesn't sink you? What does it mean to defer payments? Or to go into default on your loans?Two guests joined host Angela Davis to talk about college debt.

Those who suffer from migraines know that they are debilitating, and that the pain, nausea and dizziness they bring can knock people off their feet for days. They also know the frustration of struggling to find a treatment that works for them.

The M Health Headache Program in Minneapolis offers a multidisciplinary approach to headaches and migraines. Two doctors from the program joined host Angela Davis to talk about migraine treatment options and new medications that can prevent migraines altogether for some patients.

Guests:

Dr. Abby Metzler is an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota and a neurologist at M Health Fairview.

Dr. Natalie Roy is a medication therapy management pharmacist at M Health Fairview who specializes in neurology. She works with patients to figure out which treatments are best for them.

Use the audio player above to listen to the segment.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.