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Top Stories: Celebrating MLK Day With Service; Cowboys Game Nabs Lots Of Viewers

Courtney Collins / KERA
Volunteers work in a community garden at an East Dallas elementary school on MLK Day.

The top local stories this evening from KERA News: In 1994, Congress designated the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. as a national day of service. Ever since, non-profits, community groups and service-minded individuals have embraced the challenge to make the third Monday in January a day on – not a day off.

A few dozen volunteers in east Dallas spent half the day knee deep in dirt and mulch— to help a small school garden become something much bigger.

“We’ve replanted some cool weather vegetables, beets, carrots, cabbage, some cilantro. And we also amended the soil and put new mulch down on top of the soil. We’re really going to explore this year,” said Elizabeth Dry, the founding director of the Promise of Peace Community Gardens—the group behind this garden at Bayles Elementary.

At school, parents of students get cooking classes, they volunteer in the garden and the families get 10 pounds of locally-sourced produce to take home each month.

“The garden is the heart of the community, so when you bring people together in the garden, they start seeing nature differently, they see themselves differently and they see the world differently.”

KERA’s Courtney Collins reports that the volunteers see MLK Day as one devoted to service with an emphasis on the greater good.

Other stories this evening:

  • Martin Luther King once said “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’” Today on Think, Krys Boyd spoke with New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb about how King appealed to Americans’ moral centers when pushing his message of equality for all.
  • For the past 25 years, fourth and fifth graders across Dallas have written and performed mature and insightful speeches as part of the Gardere Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competitions. This year, 162 students competed and only eight made it to the finals. This was their prompt: If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, what would he say about Muhammad Ali’s contributions to society? Their responses touched on Ali’s legacy as a social activist, champion boxer and cultural icon. Sierra Jones, a fifth grader from the Charles Rice Learning Center, took the top prize.
  • The ratings are in – and last night’s NFC divisional playoff between Dallas and Green Bay was the most-viewed NFL divisional playoff game ever. About 48.5 million people watched the game on FOX. The network said Monday it was also the highest-rated NFC divisional game since 1997. The Packers defeated the Cowboys 34-31 on a field goal. Just minutes after the Cowboys upset, Super Bowl resale ticket prices dropped 20 percent from about $4,200 just over $3,300.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.