Irwin Gratz
Morning Edition Host and ProducerIrwin was born and reared in New York City and, while he never hiked miles to school, he did walk up six flights of stairs every day to the apartment his family lived in until he was nearly 19. Irwin remains a lover of subway rides, egg creams, and the New York Mets.
He moved to Maine in 1978 and worked a dozen years in commercial radio in Sanford, then Portland, before beginning to freelance for Maine Public Radio in 1990. He has been the local anchor of Morning Edition since September 1992.
Irwin served as chairman of the Maine Association of Broadcasters in 2015. From September 2004 to October 2005, Irwin served as national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation’s largest and most broad-based journalism organization. He holds a master’s in journalism from New York University. Irwin won a Yankee Quill Award in 2011 from the New England Newspaper and Press Association for his “broad influence for good, both inside and outside the newsroom.”
Irwin also has an interest in astronomy, which he indulges to this day as an occasional show presenter at the Southworth Planetarium in Portland. And he swims, a lot. Irwin has completed seven Peaks Island-to-Portland swims. Irwin is married and has a teenage son.
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Prices for groceries, heating oil, and rent all fell in April. -
The state has released its latest three-year work plan, which relies much less on the gas tax and much more on federal funding. -
A group is trying to raise enough money to keep the school open as a private nonprofit. The Catholic Diocese of Portland may operate it for a "bridge year." -
The government's Consumer Price Index for March showed a decline. But Maine Public's Grocery Price Index rose 1.2%. -
State Auditor Matt Dunlap says auditors looked at $37 million worth of contracts, out of $2.1 billion total. And the findings have prompted several Republican state senators to write U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, requesting an investigation of the state office that purchases goods and services with federal dollars. -
Work beginning this week to expand the Wells Downeaster train station will add a second platform, allowing for an early morning northbound train to Portland. -
The national inflation rate peaked in June 2022 at just above 9%. It has since fallen, but some worry it could accelerate further as a result of the president's tariff policy. Here at Maine Public, we're launching a project to monitor some of the prices Mainers are seeing.
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Eight full-time staff were let go Friday, according to the nonprofit Friends of Acadia. Those staff included fee collectors and trail maintenance staff. -
The state has found an increasing number of birds with confirmed cases of Avian flu and is asking Mainers to help prevent further spread. -
The latest figures show a slight drop in joblessness as 2024 ended.
