Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty, a reporter and columnist whose warm, practical voice defined daily life in Grand Forks, North Dakota for decades, died September 16, 2025, in Grand Forks. She was 99. Her daughter said she died at a local hospital of complications related to a stroke.

Hagerty wrote for the Grand Forks Herald for nearly 70 years, arriving in the 1950s and moving into full-time work by 1961. Her regular work for the paper included "Eatbeat," the unpretentious restaurant column that endeared her to readers. She continued filing columns into 2024.

On March 7, 2012, her earnest review of the new Olive Garden in Grand Forks went viral, drawing national attention and a wave of both mockery and praise. The moment introduced her to a far wider audience without changing her approach. "Eatbeat" remained about usefulness, price, and welcome.

Chef and author Anthony Bourdain (1956–2018) publicly defended Hagerty's sincerity and later helped publish her collection, "Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews," for which he wrote the foreword. The book was issued by the Anthony Bourdain/Ecco imprint.

Born Marilyn Hansen on May 30, 1926, in Pierre, South Dakota, she discovered newspapers as a teenager, writing city briefs for the Pierre Capital Journal. She graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1948 with a journalism degree, then worked at the Aberdeen American News and KFYR radio in Bismarck, North Dakota before stepping away briefly to raise her children.

Grand Forks honored Marilyn's civic presence in a characteristically local way: in 2002, the city named a sewage lift house for her, a wink she appreciated. The site is today known as the Marilyn Hagerty Lift House No. 8.

Her work brought national recognition, but her peers also celebrated the substance behind the style. In 2012, she received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media from her alma mater. The University of North Dakota later honored her contributions with campus recognitions and an honorary degree celebration.

Hagerty is survived by her son, James "Bob" Hagerty; her daughter, Gail Hagerty; and eight grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Hagerty, and by her daughter, Carol Hagerty Werner.

By Legacy News Staff

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