September 22, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Sioux Falls. Program highlights the farm crisis, and the low crop prices. Mark Steil interviews Stan Stevens, University of Minnesota Extension Economist, who shares insights on the factors playing into low prices, including weather and production risk.
September 21, 1998 - With only a few weeks left until adjournment, Congress is still struggling with the question of how best to help farmers facing near record low crop prices and other problems. At a rally in Worthington this weekend, farmers and politicians said immediate federal action is needed to stave off the failure of thousands of midwest farmers. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: Everyone at the rally got involved in the push for government help, even the pastor who lead the farmers in prayer.
September 15, 1998 - The farm crisis is about to enter a new phase as Minnesota farmers begin their corn and soybean harvests....the states largest cash crops. The price of those grains is so low most farmers plan to store the crop until prices improve. Farmers and grain elevators are scrambling to find enough space to hold the crop. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: traffic sounds up Along highway 14 in Walnut Grove is an example of how one farmer beat the grain storage problem. On a corner is a turn of the century grain elevator. Along with some steel bins added later, the complex once was
June 9, 1998 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast on what's being called the "New Midwestern Farm Crisis." The program contains reports on farming issues, including insurance, scab plant disease, government programs, global markets, and Freedom to Farm Act.
June 8, 1998 - This spring has been a once in a lifetime experience for Minnesota farmers. The weather has been almost perfect. Crops were planted so early the old rhyme "knee high by the fourth of July" could be a huge understatement. But the good news from the fields is not matched at the market place. In fact U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman will be in Minnesota and North Dakota today (monday 6/8) to talk with farmers about their economic problems. The price farmers receive for their corn, soybeans, and wheat are low and headed lower. American farmers are producing more than this nation or the world can use. The problems come as a historic change in the federal government's role in agriculture is about to take place. Two years ago congress passed landmark legislation known as "freedom to farm." It will end most federal farm support payments after 2002. With the current downturn, farmers wonder if the disappearance of the federal safety net will cause a wave of farm consolidations and bankruptcies during the next decade. In the first of a series of reports on what some are calling the new midwestern farm crisis, Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports on concerns raised by "freedom to farm:"
June 4, 1998 - Vice President Al Gore says the residents of Spencer, South Dakota will receive immediate federal aid to help them recover from Saturday's tornado. Six people were killed by the storm which nearly leveled the town of 300. Gore visited the town yesterday and said he was amazed by the damage. After Gore left, most of the town's residents gathered in a city park for a worship service. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: Vice President Gore walked past mounds of rubble which once were homes. The broken pieces of lumber were strewn with clothes, toys, books and other persona items. He stopped often to comfort r
June 2, 1998 - The March tornadoes in southwestern Minnesota forced many farmers to ask some very tough questions about their future. Rebuilding a farm operation broken apart by a tornado is difficult.... and this year's recovery is complicated by low grain, livestock and milk prices. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: The tornado tore a good chunk of the roof off the dairy barn on the Ron and Penny Mohr farm near New Ulm. It also ruined a couple of feed silos, toppling concrete blocks from one into the barn. Ron Mohr says within a few hours of the storm he knew he might have to sell his milk cows: :17 (There was guy came here at ten o'clock at night to help
May 19, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the small community of Comfrey, Minnesota. Mark Steil takes a closer look at new laws governing the regulation of feedlots in Minnesota…laws which give more control over feedlots to local governments. Steil talks with State Legislators Steve Dille and Gary Kubly, as well as local officials.
May 19, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the small community of Comfrey, Minnesota. Following the destructive March tornadoes that struck the area, Mark Steil talks with residents and local officials about recovery, rebuilding, and remembering. The topic of small towns in general and their economic health is also discussed.
May 11, 1998 - It's an old argument with a new twist. Which is more important: economics or the environment? As new technologies have emerged, some people criticize the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for favoring the economics of new ventures, and ignoring the serious environmental questions posed by emerging industries. All this week we will look at specific cases ... including animal feedlots, expanding potato farms and a new ethanol plant. In some cases, the concerns center around how a variety of state and federal agencies work together, or do not, to protect our environmental resources. We begin our series of reports, with an issue that's received a lot of attention recently. Opponents of large livestock feedlots say the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has ignored health problems created by those operations. They're especially concerned with air pollution. This spring for the first time the MPCA documented hydrogen sulfide emissions from a hog farm which violated state law. Opponents call it vindication, but wonder if the MPCA will take vigorous action to bring the feedlot into compliance. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: