Created in 1987, Mainstreet Radio held a mission of reporting specifically from rural Minnesota to all of Minnesota. With an introductory staff of Rachel Reabe, Leif Enger, and John Biewen, the group developed both long and short form news features as part of MPR Journal and Morning Edition broadcasts. As the years progressed, Mainstreet Radio expanded both in reporter contributions and programming, with memorable work from the likes of Mark Steil and Catherine Winter, amongst others. Beginning in the 1990s, Mainstreet Radio presented a monthly two-hour special, focusing on issues outside the Twin Cities metro. The varied Mainstreet Radio programming ran into the mid-2000s.
Mainstreet Radio presented a breadth of topics, providing an avenue for individuals from all walks of life to be heard. These efforts garnered numerous journalistic awards, including 65 national and regional awards in its first 10 years (1987-97).
Award-winning material in “special programs,” “series,” or “documentary” categories include Meth in Minnesota; Against the Grain; Dancing on Beat: Portrait of a Reservation Family; After the Flood; An Education in Diversity; Rekindling the Spirit: The Rebirth of American Indian Spirituality; Wilderness Truce: Ely 10 Years Later; Making the Grade: Rural schools the work; The Rural School Challenge; Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country; Gold: New Prospects on the Iron Range; and Articles of Faith.
Award-winning material in the category of “reporting” include Frog Music; Pumpkinland; Four Winds Treatment Center; Deer Hunting Weekend; Border Check for Poachers; Mille Lacs Fishing Launch; Loon Habitat; House Call Doctor; Geritol Frolics; Cartwright's Calendar; Ice-Fishing on Mille Lacs; Mercury Fillets; and A Place for the Wolf.
September 9, 1998 - As part of a series of stories following the path of the "Father of Waters,” aka the Mississippi River, Minnesota Public Radio's Kathryn Herzog has this Mainstreet report on the efforts being made to protect the health of the Mississippi…including the River Defense Network.
September 11, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Art Hughes reports on an annual event in St. Peter area recognizing the 1851 treaty between the U.S. government and the Dakota Nation. The Traverse des Sioux Treaty Encampment started in 1990 to draw attention to the area's historic significance. But this may be the event's last year, in part because of criticism from Native Americans who say the treaty is not something to honor.
September 14, 1998 - As part of a series of stories following the path of the "Father of Waters,” aka the Mississippi River, Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen has this Mainstreet report on recreational growth on the river and the implications for industries that has traditionally used the water.
September 15, 1998 - As part of a series of stories following the path of the "Father of Waters,” aka the Mississippi River, Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes has this Mainstreet report on the he U.S. Army Corps, which vigorously controls the river in the southeastern part of Minnesota. That has come at a environmental cost…a loss of diversity.
September 22, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Sioux Falls. Program highlights the farm crisis, and the low crop prices. Mark Steil interviews Stan Stevens, University of Minnesota Extension Economist, who shares insights on the factors playing into low prices, including weather and production risk.
September 22, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Sioux Falls. Program highlights the controversy over the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern coal train. The railroad wishes to create large expansion as coal hauler from Wyoming, through South Dakota, and into southern Minnesota. Mark Steil interviews Kevin Schieffer, president of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad; and Paul Wilson, co-chair of Olmsted DM&E taskforce.
September 24, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Kathryn Herzog reports on what one town is doing to address its own racism. During the Farm Crisis of the 1980's, many people moved away from rural Minnesota to find work in the city, leaving rural companies struggling with a small labor pool. As long time residents moved out, a few people of color, Hispanic and Hmong families moved in, looking for the rural lifestyle.
October 7, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls. In this first hour of program on Minnesota's wetlands and waterfowl, Rachel Reabe interviews Tim Bodeen, director of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center; Kevin Brennan, member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife; and Dr. Jay Leitch, economist at North Dakota State University. The group discuss Minnesota's vanishing wetlands, actions being taken to protect them, and educating the public about the wetlands.
October 7, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls. In this second hour of program on Minnesota's wetlands and waterfowl, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion on hunting in the wetlands with Doug Wells, wildlife manager at the Fergus Falls office of Natural Resources; and Tom Brimhall, chairman of the local Ducks Unlimited. Reabe then interviews John House, wildlife artist, and winner of DNR duck stamp contest.
October 7, 1998 - With the opening of Minnesota’s sixty-day duck season, Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson spent a few hours in a duck blind near Fergus Falls and filed this report. Minnesota has more waterfowl hunters than any place in the nation. Some 130,000 duck hunters are expected to shoot 800,000 ducks in two months.