Five stories that have North Texas talking: Joe Jonas covers a lot of ground in a revealing interview, DISD superintendent to appear on KERA today to talk about teacher evaluations, a wintry blast for North Texas, and more.

• Couldn’t we all use Rick Steves as our own personal tour guide as we travel through Europe? Tonight at 6, Steves will talk about the value of travel at the Winspear Opera House. Steves, who hosts “Rick Steves’ Europe” on KERA-TV, Channel 13, and “Travel with Rick Steves” on KERA 90.1 FM, will talk about why spending all that time and money away from home has broadened his perspective, enriched his life and made it clear to him, as he says in his talk, that “fear is for people who don’t get out very much.” If you miss the 6 p.m. talk, you can watch him on Channel 13 at 7 p.m.

• The Sammons Center for the Arts presents “Jazz Icons – Salute to Baker, Mulligan & Monk,” which is part of the 2013 Fall Sammons Jazz Season. Tonight’s concert features the Akira Sato Quartet and Evidence led by Dave Zoller. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance starts at 7:30 p.m.

• One of the Jonas brothers has opened up about his life to New York magazine. In the tell-all, Joe Jonas talks about rocketing to stardom with his brotherly musical group – and the downsides of working for the Disney empire. The Jonas family owns a home in Westlake. (During a recent concert in North Texas, Joe told the crowd that “it’s nice to be back to the place we call home.”) In the interview, Joe Jonas, the second oldest Jonas brother, talks about sex, religion and smoking marijuana with TV stars. He also recalls an early concert at the State Fair of Texas, which he called a turning point for the Jonas Brothers (both the brothers and the group): “We went from an opening act to headliners, first in half-theaters, then full theaters, then half-arenas to full arenas, all within a span of around six weeks. Playing the Texas state fair in 2007 was a turning point. There were 40,000 people, and we needed to get a helicopter in order to make it to the show because the traffic was so bad. I remember sitting in that helicopter, flying over all those cars, and thinking, This is really happening.”

• Get ready for a blast of winter. Forecasters predicted a winter storm for North Texas last week that didn’t materialize. But this time will probably be different. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch starting Thursday afternoon for much of North Texas. A cold front arrives today and temperatures will fall rapidly tonight and Thursday. Rain starts falling Thursday. That rain should turn into freezing rain Thursday night as temperatures dip below 32 degrees. A mix of sleet, ice and rain is possible Friday. The weather service says the freezing rain could affect bridges and overpasses – and even roads – starting Thursday night and into Friday. Ice could bring down power lines and trees, the weather service warns. The MetroPCS Dallas Marathon takes place Sunday – marathon officials recommend that participants and volunteers dress appropriately for the weather, wearing layers that can be removed. The marathon will go on as long as weather conditions are deemed safe. The Children’s Medical Center Parade, which takes place at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Dallas, plans to go on rain or shine, according to the hospital’s Facebook page.

• At noon Wednesday, Dallas ISD superintendent Mike Miles talks with Krys Boyd on “Think” on KERA 90.1 FM. The subject: The district’s new Teacher Excellence Initiative. Dallas ISD will soon change the way that it evaluates its teachers, moving to a system that connects teachers’ individual compensation to the achievement of their students. On Monday, Miles was among area school leaders who attended a meeting about changing Texas teacher evaluations. KERA’s Bill Zeeble explored teacher evaluations in this report this week.

• Dallas is represented well on Bing. The Dallas Cowboys is the most searched sports team on the Bing search engine in 2013, while North Texas-based Pizza Hut was the most searched food. In the sports world, Miami Heat was No. 2 and New York Yankees was No. 3. In the food search, Domino’s was No. 2 and Papa John’s was ranked third. Explore Bing search trends here.