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.
-
Maine Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill says it will take a joint effort to reduce the backlog of cases in which jailed defendants are awaiting court-appointed attorneys.
-
The federal government is awarding Maine more than $23 million to buy electric buses and charging equipment for the company that operates the propane-powered Island Explorer buses at Acadia National Park and other locations on Mount Desert Island. -
New figures from the federal government show lower jobless rates in April, than in March for the state's three federally-recognized metro areas: Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland-South Portland -
South Portland went ahead with its Memorial Day parade despite the clouds, drizzle and rain. -
Federal officials briefed reporters on the projections for this hurricane season and the threats storms pose. -
Concord Coach is leaving the Lewiston-Auburn market, but the Maine Department of Transportation is planning to hire a company to begin hourly service in the same market this summer. -
A real estate development conference Wednesday in Portland will focus on housing. Maine continues to suffer from a shortage of supply. Morning Edition Host Irwin Gratz spoke with New Orleans architect Jonathan Tate about overcoming this challenge. -
The federal government has set May 7, 2025, as the date when Americans will need special, enhanced driver's licenses or passports to fly or enter some federal buildings. -
The Attorney General's office said it has collected $650,000 owed to a project that aims to improve the quality of Long Creek in southern Maine. -
Latest government statistics continue to show a tight labor market with few people needing unemployment benefits.
