Simply Superior

Learn all about the annual Lake Superior Ice Festival on this week's "Simply Superior" program. The area’s premiere free family event celebrating winter fun takes place Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at Barker’s Island in Superior. Festivities include an ice carousel, ice slide, ice sculptures (including one that pits fire against ice) and music with – you guessed it, ice instruments. The festival’s Nikky Farmakes gives the rundown of activities with show host Robin Washington. Also, it’s Salt Awareness Week in Superior. Wisconsin Salt Wise Coordinator Allison Madison and Megan Högfeldt, the city of Superior’s water resources specialist, tell Washington what you can – and should – do to minimize salt contamination in our waterways while trying to deal with the aforementioned winter ice. Plus, Pianist and composer Edward H. Ojard joins Washington to share “Minnesota,” the fourth album by the prodigious 13-year-old from Two Harbors, Minn.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with Duluth News Tribune executive editor Rick Lubbers and Wisconsin Public Radio Superior-based reporter Danielle Kaeding.

This week on “Simply Superior,” we learn about a multimedia exhibit sharing Twin Ports Asian American experiences. For more than a decade, an informal group of Twin Ports Asian American women met in each other’s homes for food and social activities. They took on a more activist role, however, after the horrific killings of eight Asian American women in Atlanta last year. Now called the Twin Ports Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Collective, the group has created “Like Me, Like You,” a multimedia exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute to bring understanding of the Asian American experience to the larger community. Members Sharon Yung and Laura Judd discuss their art and advocacy with program host Robin Washington. Also, Michael “Laughing Fox” Charette of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa joins WPR’s Rick Reyer to share his storytelling and hauntingly beautiful flute and drum music.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with Duluth News Tribune executive editor Rick Lubbers and Wisconsin Public Radio Superior-based reporter Danielle Kaeding.

As the Twin Ports area observes the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, we hear excerpts from a new locally produced documentary on “Simply Superior.” Produced by Jeremy Gardner for the Duluth Branch NAACP, “Dr. King’s Words Into Actions: Black Empowerment Across The Generations” presents conversations between multiple generations of area residents sharing perspectives on Dr. King’s statements. Topics on voting rights, economic justice, criminal justice, health and environmental equity, and more are discussed. Audio from the film will premiere on "Simply Superior" in observance of the Twin Ports' Martin Luther King weekend activities, most of which are being held online at duluthnaacp.org/mlk due to Covid-19. Also, “Simply Superior” host Robin Washington is joined by WPR reporter Danielle Kaeding and Duluth News Tribune executive editor Rick Lubbers for the weekly roundup of regional news. This week’s roundup includes the city of Superior’s first official observance (other than by proclamation) of the King holiday.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with Duluth News Tribune executive editor Rick Lubbers and Wisconsin Public Radio Superior-based reporter Danielle Kaeding.

This week on “Simply Superior,” we discuss homeless encampments in the Twin Ports, and ways to address them. With homelessness on the rise, it has also become more visible with colorful tents in encampments that have emerged as de facto alternatives to emergency shelters for those unable to meet the rising cost of housing. Joining “Simply Superior” host Robin Washington to explain the causes behind the increase are John Cole, executive director of CHUM, the Twin Ports largest food shelf and emergency shelter provider, and Harvard University postdoctoral fellow and UCLA Sociology Professor Chris Herring. They also identify some solutions, such as tiny homes, as well as the challenges of getting government entities to fully engage with the issue. Also, we highlight Twin Ports based internationally known country-blues musician Charlie Parr, who is performing a series of weekly shows through January. Washington speaks with the owner of Earth Rider Brewery, where Parr will be playing, about how this performance series has become an annual January tradition.

We look back at the region’s news and arts stories in 2021 with our annual ‘Year-in-Review’ program on this week’s “Simply Superior.” Host Robin Washington speaks with Duluth News Tribune Executive Editor Rick Lubbers and WPR’s Superior-based reporter Danielle Kaeding to discuss the year’s top regional stories. Also, Duluth News Tribune A&E reporter Christa Lawler and KUWS 91.3 “Dean’s List” host Walt Dizzo join Washington to look back on the year’s entertainment scene. They discuss the slow return of performers to concert stages as Covid 19 continues, and the departure from the area of noted musicians One Less Guest and Daniel Oyinloye.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with Duluth News Tribune executive editor Rick Lubbers and Wisconsin Public Radio Superior-based reporter Danielle Kaeding.

Today on “Simply Superior,” we hear from John Shuster who leads the Twin Ports Olympic Curling team. Team Shuster won the 2018 gold medal in Pyeongchang, South Korea and is headed to Shuster’s fifth Olympic Games. In both the 2018 contest and the recent trials for the upcoming Games, Team Shuster wowed their fans with improbable come-from-behind victories. Host Robin Washington speaks with Shuster about his team’s mastery of the often little understood but challenging sport of curling. We also hear from composer, jazz pianist and University of Minnesota Duluth Music Professor Ryan Frane of Solon Springs. Frane shares the work he’s been creating in the Northwoods, ranging from his contemplative solo piano pieces to lively and spirited ensemble jams.