September 8, 1989 - Mainstreet Radio’s John Biewen presents the documentary “Dancing on Beat: Portrait of a Reservation Family,” which follows the daily life of an Ojibwe family on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.
November 21, 1989 - MPR’s Stephen Smith presents "Armed in America," an examination on gun ownership and gun control in the United States, and more specifically, in Minnesota. Program highlights topics of crime, protection and cultural impact of firearms.
December 27, 1989 - A Mainstreet Radio special from southwestern Minnesota town of Madison. MPR’s John Biewen presents a documentary entitled, "We're Not Dying," which highlights how the town survived the 1980’s farm crisis.
January 29, 1990 - Documentary report on heart transplantation, its rise over the last decade, and the shortage of donor organs.
May 29, 1990 - An MPR special documentary report titled, "Spearing on Lakes of Fire", narrated by Chris Tetlin. The report presents fishing debate over Chippewa Indian/U.S. Government treaty in northern Wisconsin. The controversy centers on walleyes, but there's much more at stake than fish.
May 30, 1990 - It is the military service of men that is remembered by most people on Memorial Day. The military service of women doesn't come to mind except to those who have reason to know about their roles over the years. This report is on the voices of women recounting their thoughts on serving in WWII or the Vietnam War.
June 20, 1990 - A presentation of the MPR documentary "Season of Discontent: Migrants in the Red River Valley," which highlights Hispanic migrant farm workers who work the sugar beet fields. Following documentary, Stephen Cooper, Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner, discusses the issues migrant workers face in the state.
August 24, 1990 - Soundprint documentary: a mother and daughter's recollection of life in Taiwan during World War II, including reminiscences, "sound poetry", and original music. Producer D. Roberts describes her mother's childhood in Taiwan and her own cross-cultural identity. "Mei Mei" is a 25 minute documentary that chronicles Dmae and her mother, Chu-Yin, as they travel to Taiwan together. Mei Mei is Chinese for "little sister" - a term of endearment for any younger girl. First produced in 1989, "Mei Mei" was highly personal and groundbreaking for its time - interweaving interviews and dramatizations to tell the story of a conflicted daughter and her mother who suffered abuse, starvation and the horrors of World War Two. "Mei Mei" has been broadcast on NPR, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Peabody - Winner 1989 - D. Roberts, Independent Producer, American Public Radio's "Soundprint" Series The story of the relationship between the parents and children is as old as time itself, but we never tire of it because it is central to all. D. Roberts' documentary examines how personal boundaries can be complicated by cultural boundaries as here, where the mother is Taiwanese and her daughter is American. The pain of the mother, who was sold into servitude as a girl and suffered abuse and near starvation makes it very difficult for her to relate to her daughter with the warmth and affection that her daughter desires. Thus the two share an uneasy alliance with the daughter continuously trying to understand her mother and her mother's culture, an attempt that culminates with a trip to Taiwan to explore together her mother's roots. For an exceptional examination of personal relationships and for sharing them with the radio audience, a Peabody Award to D. Roberts for Mei Mei: A Daughter's Song.
September 1, 1990 -
November 8, 1990 - MPR’s Stephen Smith presents the documentary "Whom They Fear, They Hate," which explores the issue of hate crime in the U.S. by looking at two communities: Minneapolis/St. Paul and Portland, Oregon.