As you can tell by today’s paper, yesterday’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in the city was packed with political intensity.

A few notes that didn’t make it into the paper:

•It looks like attorney general candidate Chris Koster is making a strong pitch for the African-American vote. Earlier, we reported that Koster made the rounds at City Hall, escorted by, among others, Freeman Bosley Jr., the first black mayor of St. Louis. On Monday, Koster was near the front of the line at the annual King Day march from the Old Courthouse to Powell Hall.

It’s an interesting play for Koster, the Republican expatriate from the Kansas City area. Sure, Democratic rival Margaret Donnelly lives much closer to the city’s African-American neighborhoods. But will the difference between Richmond Heights and Harrisonville matter to voters in the Ville, Baden or Walnut Park?

Koster also has the support of Rodney Hubard, who knows how to bring out his base on Election Day.

•Secretary of State Robin Carnahan passed on an opportunity to throw her support behind fellow Democrat Mayor Francis Slay after his speech was drowned out by boos. It’s probably just that she doesn’t want to wade into somebody’s else’s political mess – that’s Politics 101, after all – but the pair do have some history.

Carnahan raised the ire of Slay in 2004, when she ran an ad in rural Missouri criticizing then-opponent Catherine Hanaway for supporting funding for the new Cardinals stadium. Allies defended the ad as typical regional politics, but that did not assuage Slay, whose administration fought hard for the ballpark.

•The man pictured wearing a KKK hat at the Old Courthouse ceremony was veteran activist Anthony Shahid. He has worn the Klan get-up several times at recent protests and news conferences.

•Jay Nixon was scheduled to be at the morning ceremony, but instead was on stage for the afternoon service at Powell Hall. The switch allowed him to take part in the observances while bypassing the Slay imbroglio. (Of course, there is no indication that was the reason for it.)

•Supporters for only one presidential candidate were visible at Monday’s event. I’ll give you a hint: His name rhymes with llama.