Current State

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally aired on WKAR on April 4, 2013.

On this date 50 years ago, civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered in Memphis. 

Current State - the latest on the arrest of an MSU dean; a talk with one of Larry Nassar's survivors and her plans to help Meridian Township; Bridge Magazine's profile of the 39 gun bills in the state legislature; Plus YMusic.

High blood pressure can be a killer, and millions of people don’t know they have it. Knowing that you have hypertension and treating it with lifestyle changes and-or medication can prevent heart attacks and strokes. Researchers at Michigan State University are developing a device that they hope will one day make it easier to monitor blood pressure.

We start this weekend's Current State with efforts to improve school safety and performance. We also talk with Jackson mayor Derek Dobies about starting a book club to help heal the racial divide in his city. We review endorsements for Michigan gubernatorial candidates. We get a spring forecast and learn why college sports teams are almost always in the red. Plus, learn how climate change may affect maple syrup production in the Great Lakes. 

The Reclaim MSU organization is holding a rally targeting the process for selecting the next MSU president starting at 5 p.m. today.

A new book by former Detroit Free Press sportswriter Keith Gave tells the story of how the Detroit Red Wings brought Soviet players to the National Hockey League. Those players helped the team win its first Stanley Cup championship in more than four decades back in 1997.

Gregory Conte, director of operations with Richard Spencer’s National Policy Institute, has been arraigned on a charge of resisting and obstructing police at Spencer’s March 5th appearance at Michigan State University.

There are six student dormitories on West Circle Drive on the MSU campus, and all six are named for notable women in the school’s history.

WKAR’s Scott Pohl met up with MSU archivist Megan Malone for a Women’s History Month walk around West Circle Drive to learn about these six women. They started at Williams Hall.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor has decided to slow down the process of redeveloping City Hall, saying "this is a fifty year decision."

There will not be a Great Lakes Folk Festival this summer in East Lansing. WKAR's Scott Pohl talks with  Museum Director Mark Auslander about the decision.

WKAR-AM signed on the air in 1922. Now, 96 years later, our AM station has a companion on the FM dial besides 90.5. As of last week, you can listen to our AM programming on FM 105.1, too.

In a new documentary film, Bridge Magazine traverses Michigan to examine our political differences and what it might take to bring us together. “Michigan Divided” will have its premiere on Wednesday at a public conference on the MSU campus.

On this week's Current State: WKAR Connects, a series of stories looking at local organizations who offer support for survivors of sexual and domestic abuse; two MSU students who created a teal Facebook frame to show support for sexual assault survivors; a conversation with East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows; a concert and album release from the MSU graduate group Mirabai; and conversation and song with comedic singer-songwriter Wally Pleasant.

Wally Pleasant is a comedic singer-songwriter who’ll perform twice this weekend in Charlotte. Scott Pohl brought the long-time local favorite into WKAR’s Studio S for a little conversation and music.