In a time of economic and geopolitical transformation, MCEE found its work more in demand than ever before. Facing financial difficulties, the Council continued to delegate much of its programming to the affiliated centers to limit costs; with this freedom, the Duluth center began the Economics Challenge program for high school students to encourage teacher training and student recognition.

This period also saw a broadening of efforts by MCEE to require economics instruction in high school courses, a change from the previous emphasis on undergraduate instruction strictly for educators. The roaring economic prosperity of the late-1980's made efforts to require economics instruction difficult, as many Minnesotans settled into a sense of security with their own knowledge of the economy.

"At a time when economic issues are so important, there is an urgent need for economic education in high schools. We cannot let an understanding of economics be the exclusive domain of those who choose to study it in college. Yet high schools do not afford economics its deserved status... (When) school budgets are drawn, the reality of economics often defeats the study of economics." - Unnamed Student letter, 1982