Simply Superior

When Sude Kanan arrived in Washburn at the start of this school year as an exchange student from Turkey, she had no idea her native country would dominate world news during her absence. That all changed with the devastating earthquake in February and its aftershocks continuing through this week, taking at least 50,000 lives. Those lost include the family of one of Kanan’s exchange cohort members also in the U.S. The high school senior speaks with “Simply Superior” host Robin Washington about the disaster and ways locals in Washburn have mobilized to help.

Also, Gabe Mayfield parlayed a role in a University of Wisconsin-Superior production of “Little Shop of Horrors” years ago into a career as arguably the Twin Ports’ most popular actor. He’s also made his mark as a singer, and shares selections with Washington from his recently released second album, “Showdown.” The two will meet on the stage as a participant and judge (we’ll let you guess which is in which role) at the Duluth Playhouse’s “Singing With the Stars” at the NorShor Theatre Friday night.