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.
October 21, 1991 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe reports on large fire in downtown Brainerd that destroyed ten businesses and sixteen apartments. Reabe interviews various local officials and business owners about the fire.
November 7, 1991 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe reports on the foster care of developmentally disabled in Stearns County, Minnesota. Reabe interviews a foster care provider and government officials.
February 3, 1992 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter takes a look at rural ministry in southern Minnesota. Winter interviews numerous theologians about the unique nature of church in agriculture communities.
July 23, 1992 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports that a new Target in Alexandria, along with other big box retailers, threaten small town main street businesses. The result on street is changing storefronts and niche selling. Enger talks with a local store owner, Target manager, local official, and an economics professor about the impact on community.
November 10, 1992 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe reports on the economic and political changes taking place on the Iron Range due to a shrinking population. The region’s legislative delegation has fallen from nine to six in the upcoming session.
March 3, 1993 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil profiles the Zytec Corporation in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Steil interviews members of business about it’s non-traditional approach of worker self-management, an idea fostered by American business theorist W. Edwards Deming.
March 9, 1993 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger profiles The Up North Family Theatre in Brainerd, Minnesota. The children’s theatre founder hopes to create an important arts institution in the area.
March 13, 1993 - Mainstreet Radio’s Catherine Winter reports on the difficulty to prosecute child abuse on Red Lake and other Indian reservations. On most reservations, state criminal laws don’t apply. The federal government is responsible for prosecuting serious cries under federal law. While child sex abuse is prohibited under federal law, child physical abuse is not.
April 7, 1993 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil looks at the Granger Creamery, which is one of the only ones left for local farmers to utilize for business in southern Minnesota. The creamery is one of only two in state that still excepts milk in cans. This is important to Amish farmers, who will not use bulk tanks.
April 12, 1993 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the Grand Casino Mille Lacs near Garrison, Minnesota. First hour of program highlights American Indian casinos…what some term as the ‘New Buffalo.’ MPR’s Catherine Winter interviews Leonard Prescott, chairman of Little Six Inc.; Charlie Berg, state senator and chair of Minnesota Senate Gaming Regulation Committee; Bernita Churchill, elected legislative official for Mille Lacs Tribe; and Doug Twait, commissioner of public affairs for Chippewa Tribe. Group discusses benefits, concerns, and issues of gambling in Minnesota.