Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty
Hansen in 1946
Born
Marilyn Gail Hansen

(1926-05-30)May 30, 1926
DiedSeptember 16, 2025(2025-09-16) (aged 99)
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota
OccupationNewspaper columnist
Spouse
Jack Hagerty
(m. 1949; died 1997)
Children3
AwardsAl Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media (2012)

Marilyn Gail Hagerty (née Hansen; May 30, 1926 – September 16, 2025) was an American newspaper columnist, writing for the Grand Forks Herald from 1957 to 2024. Her March 2012 review of the new Olive Garden restaurant in Grand Forks, North Dakota went viral when at first derided, before gaining a supportive following, including from Anthony Bourdain. Her reviews were collected in a 2013 book, Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews, with a foreword by Bourdain.

She was awarded the 2012 Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media, the UND Spirit Award, bestowed by the UND Alumni Association and Foundation in 2017, and an honorary degree from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks in 2021.