April 1, 1999 - On this special date, MPR’s Amy Radil reports that the Duluth Port Authority is scrambling to respond to unconfirmed reports of whale sightings in the Duluth Ship Canal. Biologists speculate a scarce food supply has driven a whale far inland during the spring breeding season. Authorities are trying to determine whether the whale poses a shipping hazard and how the marine mammal made its lengthy journey.
April 16, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Rochester on senior citizens and Minnesota's long-term care system. In this hour, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about nursing home alternatives with Connie Bagley, director of the Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging; Hal Freshley, of the Minnesota Board of Aging; and Dr. Ken Hepburn, director of Geriatrics programs at Department of Family Practice at University of Minnesota.
April 16, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Rochester on senior citizens and Minnesota's long-term care system. In this hour, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about nursing home challenges in Rochester with Dr. Kevin Fleming, a geriatrician at the Mayo Clinic; Sheila Kiskaden, a state senator; and Mark Casperson, executive director of Samaritan Bethany Heights Nursing Home.
April 16, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Brent Wolfe visits a senior foster care family in southeast Minnesota. Nursing homes across Minnesota face a serious labor shortage that's forcing some to leave beds empty because they can't find nursing assistants to care for patients. Advocates for senior citizens are looking for ways to attract more workers and they're also looking for alternatives to nursing homes…one such alternative is senior foster care.
May 3, 1999 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special report "Hidden Rainbow: The Changing Face of Minnesota." Program presents a series of reports on the state's growing minority population in outstate Minnesota.
May 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from St. Cloud State University as part of MPR's week-long project called "Hidden Rainbow: The Changing Face of Minnesota." In this first hour of program, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion on racism in St. Cloud with Ralonda Mason, a local lawyer handling racism cases for St. Cloud Area Legal Services; Taye Reta, former St. Cloud business owner and member of the State Council on Black Minnesotans; Susan Ihne, executive editor at The St. Cloud Times; and Vusi Khamalo, director for the Multicultural Services at St. Cloud Technical College.
May 5, 1999 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports on the diminishing population of rainbow smelt in Lake Superior. Years ago, the smelt run drew huge crowds to Lake Superior beaches, where fish were netted by hand and cooked over open fires. Raucous all-night beach parties fueled by generous doses of alcohol achieved mythical status around the big lake. But now, the big smelt runs are history.
May 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from St. Cloud State University as part of MPR's week-long project called "Hidden Rainbow: The Changing Face of Minnesota." In this second hour of program, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion on refugee resettlement in Minnesota with Minh Tran, area coordinator for Refugee and Immigration Services for Lutheran Social Services in Moorehead; Diane Kimm, a Pelican Rapids volunteer who has worked with refugee families in the community; Bob Hulteen, of Minnesota Council of Churches; and Sue Pirsig, who works with economic development organization in Swift County.
May 6, 1999 - John Lyght, former Cook County Sheriff, talks about being born and raised in Cook County, along Minnesota's far Northeastern corner. With his parents, and eventually 14 brothers and sisters, the Lyghts were the first African American family that settled among the Swedes and Norwegians on Lake Superior's North Shore.
May 26, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Lake Benton. Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about Minnesota's wind farm on Buffalo Ridge and the greater wind-power industry with guests Marlin Thompson, Lake Benton mayor; Jim Nichols, a former agriculture commissioner who now heads economic development efforts for the area; and Audrey Zibelman, director of Energy Marketing for Northern States Power.