September 17, 1997 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports on a persistent rumor suggesting North Carolina-based NationsBank might be interested in buying the Minnesota Twins and moving team to Charlotte. Kaste looks at how it could impact legislative action at the Minnesota Capitol regarding a stadium bill.
September 16, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil reports on workers at Oak Hills Living Center, a New Ulm nursing home in southwest Minnesota, who unionized several years ago and currently are locked in a bitter strike with management. They want higher pay, but government Medicaid policies and other regulations make that a difficult goal to reach.
September 6, 1997 - Midday presents two segments about helping the homeless. In the first half hour, a rebroadcast of reporter Dan Olson's Voices of Minnesota interview with the head of Catholic Charities of Minnesota, Rev. Jerome Boxleitner. In the second half hour a rebroadcast of the MPR documentary Loaves and Fishes, about a Duluth Catholic facility for helping the homeless.
August 7, 1997 - Midday rebroadcasts a Minnesota Public Radio documentary produced by MPR’s Mark Heistad. The Strike is On! is an oral history of the early labor movement in Minnesota, with emphasis on the struggle to organize Iron Range workers, Austin’s Hormel strike, the Minneapolis truckers strike of 1934, and more.
July 27, 1997 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports outside All God’s Children’s Metropolitan Church, where picketers from Fred Phelps anti-gay group were met by hundreds of gay rights supporters. Attenddees at service included four of the DFL gubernatorial candidates.
July 18, 1997 - Midday features a special report on teen curfews, with a follow up discussion with guests Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman in the St. Paul studios; and in MPR's Collegeville bureau, Sherry Smolik, coordinator of the St. Cloud Area Violence Prevention Council. The guests also answer listener call-in questions.
July 2, 1997 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on the clean-up effort underway in Monticello. A major storm front carved a 15-mile path of destruction through Wright County, downing trees and power lines.
June 28, 1997 - MPR’s John Biscoff visits the teahouse in Como's Japanese Garden found at St. Paul's Como Park. The age-old ceremony is drawing people who are curious about Japan or who have simply heard that it's a good way to step out of the daily grind and enjoy a peaceful afternoon.
May 29, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe visits a correctional facility in Faribault. Secure behind high chain link fences topped with coiled razor wire, the oldest prisoners in the system live out their remaining years.
May 29, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe profiles Minnesota's Linda Eder, who is wowing Broadway audiences as the female lead in the musical version of Jekyll and Hyde. 36-year-old Eder, who grew up outside Brainerd, has an exceptional, powerful voice, according to the theater critics and fans singing her praises.