July 3, 1996 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger visits the central Minnesota town of Crosby, which is having a comeback of sorts…from prospering former mining town to bustling “antique” town. Those windows now contain 40 antique stores. Locals are hoping the recovery expands to other businesses for community.
August 6, 1996 - In connection with "National Night Out,” Midday presents a program about the effectiveness of local crime prevention efforts. Studio guests Travis Christopher, member of the Brooklyn Park Police Department and president of the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association; and St. Paul Police Lieutenant Richard Gardell share their insights and answer listener questions.
December 6, 1996 - Negotiations in the federal mediation of the Boundary Waters issue are taking some time off after 14 non-consecutive days of negotiations. After months of discussion it seems there are still large disagreements over basic issues. In fact, one of the participants, Bill Hansen, a second generation canoe outfitter, has proposed just sticking with the status quo.
April 11, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports on residents of the Phillips neighborhood in South Minneapolis packing City Council chambers morning to plead for more help combatting violence.
May 9, 1997 - In the aftermath of spring's record flooding in the Red River Valley, Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports on one of the most visible and immediate legacy of disaster…trash.
May 30, 1997 - Midday examines the ways segregation is affecting life in the Twin Cities with guests George Latimer, former St. Paul mayor and former official with the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Vivian Jenkins Nelson, president and CEO of Inter-Race. Topics include Listeners call in with questions.
June 5, 1997 - MPR's Laura McCallum reports on the efforts underway in the small north-central Minnesota community of Staples to restore a hidden theater. Built in 1908, Batcher's Opera House is located above a department store-turned-antique shop. History buffs say it provides a rare glimpse into theater in the early 20th century.
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.
October 6, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Mark Steil revisits the southern Minnesota town of Good Thunder and takes a look at the continuing economic development struggles on Main Street. With the state’s economic boom in the 1990s, officials would love to bring some of those jobs to their town, but that just hasn't happened.
January 28, 1998 - MPR’s Bob Potter talks with Robert Lavenda, anthropologist at Saint Cloud State University and an expert on town festivals in Minnesota, about the origins of the carnival legend.