Simply Superior, July 15, 2022

A villain, a damsel in distress, and of course a charming hero are among characters in “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” a musical melodrama premiering this week by the Time Arc Theatre at the Elks Lodge in Superior. Its creators, writer Kathy Laakso of Oulu and songsmith Bruce Nelson of South Range (familiar to regular listeners as the composer of our theme song) join “Simply Superior” host Robin Washington to talk about their collaboration and its setting in 1890s Superior – with a little bit of Chicago’s World’s Fair thrown in for good measure.

Also, Classie Dudley became president of the Duluth Branch NAACP in early 2021 while still in her 20s. Now, the Duluth native adds fighting poverty to her work of combating prejudice as the new executive director of Community Action Duluth. The area’s largest anti-poverty agency, CAD offers a variety of services – from free tax preparation to skills training – to residents from all walks of life on both sides of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, as does the Duluth NAACP in its advocacy for justice. Dudley discusses with Washington the challenges and rewards of both organizations. (Note: This segment is a rebroadcast from last week’s show due to technical issues that prevented some listeners from hearing it in its entirety.)