March 6, 1998 - When the nation's largest red meat processor shuts down a packing plant in southwest Minnesota later this week it will hurt more than the employees. Farmers who sell cattle to the IBP plant in Luverne are worried too. Some say the situation underscores complaints that the few remaining meatpackers are too powerful. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports: Slaughtering plants shutdowns are becoming a common experience in southwest Minnesota and across the border in Iowa and South Dakota. Last year a Campbell Soup chicken plant in Worthington and a hog processor in Huron South Dakota closed.
February 10, 1998 - The Minnesota River valley could look different in a few years...and the river water may be much cleaner. What may be the most concentrated effort ever in Minnesota to clean a river is set to begin this spring..... assuming the U.S. Agriculture Department okays the state/federal effort. That approval is expected this month. The goal is to reduce the amount of agricultural run-off entering the river. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports: This southern Minnesota field doesn't look much out of the ordinary with its spikes of brown grass poking through ice-encrusted snow: SOUNDS OF FOOTSTEPS FADE UP UNDER PREVIOUS :11 (We got good snow cover out here, we're looking
January 23, 1998 - A disagreement between state and federal officials is threatening a wide ranging program to clean up the Minnesota River. As much as 200 million dollars in federal money is at stake, but one person close to the disagreement says there's only a fifty-fifty chance the two sides can reach agreement.
January 19, 1998 - The death last month of 3-term republican Barb Vickerman created the open seat. The district borders the Minnesota River and includes the town's of Redwood Falls, New Ulm and Springfield. Because of the compressed timetable of the special election.... the candidates have little more than three weeks to meet voters and plug their ISS.
January 7, 1998 - The nation's largst meatpacker says it will close a plant and end 370 jobs in southwest Minnesota because it can't find enough cattle to process. IBP will close its Luverne plant March 7th. The shutdown occurs as a political debate in Minnesota over large-scale livestock operations heats up. Supporters say the large facilities are needed to keep the meatprocessing industry in the state.
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.
October 1, 1997 - Like it or not, ethanol blended gasoline is Minnesota's number one fuel for cars and trucks. A state law takes effect today which virtually mandates the ethanol blend as the only fuel you can buy in areas outside the Twin Cities. The ethanol blend has been required in the metro area since 1995. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports.
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.
August 18, 1997 - Families who lost their homes in spring flooding hope to find permanent housing before cold weather arrives. Many are still living in trailers or other temporary shelter. In the Minnesota River valley in the southern part of the state, flood repairs continue. Some people though are finding few housing options available. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports: Pettijohn street in Montevideo is nearly deserted. Most of the houses will be torn down, after being soaked by (in) six feet of flood water. Some homes are swathed in yellow police tape, condemned to the wrecking ball. Behind one house, there are signs of life:
June 24, 1997 - A legal challenge may change the system used to raise more than a half a billion dollars a year to promote U.S. farm products. "Check-off" programs are managed by state and federal government and require farmers to pay a small fee each time they sell milk, hogs and other commodities. The money is used to promote sales of the products. The U.S. Supreme Court will rule this summer on whether mandatory checkoff programs violate free speech guarantees. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports.