Simply Superior

A look back at the week’s news highlights with The Star Tribune’s Brooks Johnson and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Danielle Kaeding.

Mayors Jim Paine of Superior and Emily Larson of Duluth join moderator Drew Digby of the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council for a virtual “Mayor’s Chat of Transportation.” Also, “Simply Superior” theme song composer Bruce Nelson of South Range is our musical guest.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with The Star Tribune’s Brooks Johnson and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Danielle Kaeding.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with The Star Tribune’s Brooks Johnson and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Danielle Kaeding.

2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the Twin Ports darkest day — that of the lynchings in Duluth of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie. Observances planned last year included a call for 10,000 people to gather around the CJM Memorial in Duluth and a speech by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. Last year's gathering was scrapped due to the pandemic, but Stevenson delivered his postponed speech this week, as scaled-back observances were held on the June 15th anniversary. Hear excerpts of his speech on this edition of “Simply Superior,” Plus a conversation with Grandma's Marathon founder Scott Keenan.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with The Star Tribune’s Brooks Johnson and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Danielle Kaeding.

Seventy-five years ago the Supreme Court declared segregation in interstate transportation to be unconstitutional - a ruling that was virtually ignored by the South. In response, a courageous group of interracial activists invented the concept of the Freedom Ride; riding buses and trains side-by-side to force enforcement of the ruling. In the early 1990s, “Simply Superior” host Robin Washington brought together the survivors of that ride for a reunion retracing their trip for a national PBS documentary, "You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow!" He now presents the program as a new radio documentary.

A look back at the week’s news highlights with The Star Tribune’s Brooks Johnson and Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Danielle Kaeding.

The intersection of East 38 th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis has become ground zero for the racial justice movement in the year following the murder of George Floyd on that street corner at the hands of Minneapolis police. George Floyd Square, as it has come to be known, has become a place to gather, reflect, organize and demonstrate. This week on “Simply Superior,” host Robin Washington visits George Floyd Square and talks with visitors commemorating the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death. Hear their thoughts, along with those of long-time Superior African heritage activist Kym Young, about how far the region and nation have come since Floyd’s death.

With Wisconsin often called one of the most Gerrymandered states in the union, Shereen Siewert, host of “Simply Superior’s” sister show, “Route 51”, welcomes political scientist Eric Giordano of the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service for a discussion about the history and practice of political redistricting. While Gov. Tony Evers has appointed an independent committee to propose new maps following the 2020 Census, Giordano discusses whether such an effort can be truly nonpartisan and objective. Also, the music of "One Less Guest.” (pictured)