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.
November 27, 2001 - Mainstreet Radio’s Tim Post spent the morning with his neighbors, shoveling more than a foot of heavy, wet snow. A powerful winter storm buried central and western Minnesota with as much as 30 inches of snow. The heaviest band of snow stretched from Willmar to St. Cloud.
November 27, 2001 - MPR’s Jeff Horwich presents a Mainstreet Radio series looking at the growing role of Spanish in the Minnesota work place. The series continues with report on one large Minnesota company finding biligual workers are good for the bottom line.
November 28, 2001 - MPR’s Jeff Horwich presents a Mainstreet Radio series looking at the growing role of Spanish in the Minnesota work place. Horwich spent an evening with one rural Minnesota police officer helping his department relate to the town's changing population.
November 29, 2001 - Major League Baseball owners say they plan to move ahead with contraction and the fate of the Minnesota Twins is still unclear. The Twins are a big story in the Twin Cities, but we wondered how the baseball saga is playing in Fargo. Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson hit the streets to find out.
December 10, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Rob Schmitz reports on Viroqua, Wisconsin…a dying small town that revived itself by transforming its identity.
December 11, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Bob Reha reports from Fargo-Moorhead, where small town life has become a draw. Since September 11th, some people are realizing they can find the good life by coming home to the Midwest.
December 11, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Stephanie Hemphill reports on debate in Duluth between preservationists and those wanting new buildings. The city's old Armory is the lastest battlefield in that ongoing conflict.
December 12, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Tom Robertson explores what's gained and what's lost when a small town like Bemidji grows big.
December 12, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, MPR’s Jeff Horwich profiles the Stearns county town of St. Anthony, in the which mainstreet is a church, a bar, and not much else. Horwich visits both…and finds a community.
December 13, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Our Town” project, Chris Julin profiles the Olsons, a family who have found “home” in the small town of Moose Lake.