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PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY THE GRAND FORKS HERALD AND ECCO
America’s Sweetheart North Dakota newspaperwoman Marilyn Hagerty becomes a media darling in her own right. | BY KATE NELSON
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hen Marilyn Hagerty’s candid, downright charming review of the Olive Garden went viral in 2012, she nearly broke the Internet. “The place is impressive. It’s fashioned in Tuscan farmhouse style with a welcoming entryway,” she wrote. “The chicken Alfredo ($10.95) was warm and comforting on a cold day. The portion was generous. My server was ready with Parmesan cheese.” The 88-year-old Grand Forks Herald columnist quickly became the target of snarky commentary from food snobs near and far. “I got scathing emails from everywhere,” she recalls. “Then, I got a rush of emails from people praising my reviews of everyday places. I think many of the critics had never seen a newspaper with friendly, informative reviews.” Her son, a Wall Street Journal reporter, had to explain to her what exactly “going viral” meant. The hype that followed, including a whirlwind culinary and media tour, didn’t faze Hagerty. After all, her Eatbeat column is just one of five she pens weekly — a cutback from
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her full-time days at the paper, where she’s worked since 1957. (“I retired when I was 65, but I forgot to go home,” she quips.) The proudest accomplishment of her decades-long career came later that year, when she won the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media; past recipients include Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and Garrison Keillor. She was presented the honor by the late USA Today founder himself. “Al Neuharth happened to be a classmate of mine at the University of South Dakota,” Hagerty explains. “He credited me with leading him away from radio and into newspaper work when I was editor of the school paper.” Among her admirers? There’s Anderson Cooper, who offered her a cruise to Italy (“which I never took,” she says) and sent her to Georgia to review a combination Olive Garden/Red Lobster. There’s celebrated chef Eric Ripert of New York City’s three-Michelin-starred Le Bernardin, who noted he was honored by her visit and review. And then there’s the local Girl Scouts troop that created a “Marilyn” badge. But her ultimate fan is perhaps an unlikely one: outspoken chef