Tracy Briggs

Fargo

Reporter and Columnist at St. Cloud Live

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Articles

How Minnesota became home to a very sticky situation

1 month ago | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

TWO HARBORS, Minn. — It all started with sandpaper, but a little stick-to-itiveness turned it into something much bigger. When Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing — better known as 3M — was founded in Two Harbors in 1902, its focus was on producing high-quality sandpaper. By the 1920s, the company had built a strong reputation in the abrasives industry.
She left Queen Victoria to become a North Dakota farm wife

2 months ago | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

ROLLA, N.D. — It’s the heart of many a fairy tale — a young woman rising from humble beginnings to a life of luxury in a grand palace. But Marie Downing was Cinderella in reverse — leaving the opulence of Queen Victoria’s court in 1887 to become a modest farmer’s wife in rural America. It was a colossal culture shock from the Victorian finery of London to the blustery acres of Rolla, Dakota Territory. Yet, in her old age, Marie said she did it for love and would do it again.
North Dakotan, Minnesotan played key roles in Iwo Jima flag-raising 80 years ago

2 months ago | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

Feb. 23, 2025, marks 80 years since one of the most powerful and patriotic images was taken of war — the U.S. Marines raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. It was the first time the Stars and Stripes flew over traditional Japanese soil, a moment that electrified U.S. troops below and shook the island’s defenders.
Two Minnesota women escaped prison and hid for months as ‘husband and wife’

2 months ago | brainerddispatch.com | Tracy Briggs

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — They didn’t hit the road in a convertible and most likely didn’t pick up a charming drifter who looked like Brad Pitt. Nonetheless, Edna Larrabee and Beulah Brunelle might be the closest thing Minnesota has ever had to Thelma and Louise. The two women were the bane of existence for law enforcement authorities in the 1940s. Between 1946 and 1949, the pair broke out of Minnesota’s Shakopee State Reformatory for Women not once, not twice, but five times.
In 1961, the U.S. lost its entire national figure skating team in a plane crash

Jan 30, 2025 | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

Editor's note: This archival article was first published Feb. 26, 2021. FARGO — It’s almost unimaginable in the world of sports — a team of athletes carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation wiped out in the blink of an eye. That is what happened on February 15, 1961, when all 18 members of the United States Figure Skating National Team were killed after the plane they were on crashed in Belgium on the way to the World Championships in Prague.
St. Cloud volunteer earns Air Force award for troop care packages

Nov 21, 2024 | stcloudlive.com | Stephanie Dickrell |Trent Abrego |Michael Johnson |Tracy Briggs

WASHINGTON — A St. Cloud volunteer known for sending countless care packages to U.S. troops has been honored at the Pentagon. Becky Carlson received the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Distinguished Civilian Humanitarian Award from the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Washington, D.C. She was recognized for her nonprofit organization, Becky’s Troop Care Packages, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer's office.
Sauk Rapids teen ready to star in A24 horror film

Nov 15, 2024 | stcloudlive.com | Trent Abrego |Michael Johnson |Tracy Briggs |Natasha DeLion

SAUK RAPIDS — Hudson Behling might see himself as a small-town kid from Sauk Rapids, but he’s about to make it on the big screen. The 14-year-old eighth-grader recently returned from two months in Winnipeg, Canada. He is starring as the main character in “Altar,” an A24 horror movie set to hit theaters next year. “I’m just a small kid from Sauk Rapids. I would’ve never thought a small-town kid would get a lead role in a movie,” Hudson said.
Minnesota woman - not the Rocky Mountains - inspired John Denver's first No. 1 song

Nov 12, 2024 | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

Editor's note: This archival article was first published Nov. 23, 2022. How many of us can finish this lyric? “You fill up my senses…..”Ready. Go.“Like a night in the forestLike the mountains in springtimeLike a walk in the rain"As you sing those words, (and I know you are) you can almost hear the soft guitar notes and clear, gentle voice of superstar John Denver. Denver’s “Annie’s Song” was a monster hit for the folk singer turned pop/country 1970s superstar.
Stressed? 120 years ago, Minnesotans were popping 'Pink Pills for Pale People'

Nov 6, 2024 | stcloudlive.com | Tracy Briggs

As you read this story, the 2024 Presidential Election may or may not be decided. If it is over, one side will sigh with relief, while the other might have trouble getting out of bed. No matter who you voted for, you might wonder today whether the knot in your stomach will ever dissipate or if your frayed nerves will ever be intact again. Will guzzling a beer (or six) or eating a Girl Scout Troop’s entire inventory of Thin Mints ease the stress of living in politically divided America?
Frightening facts about the Halloween blizzard of 1991

Nov 1, 2024 | wctrib.com | Tracy Briggs

Editor's note: A version of this story was published on Oct. 29, 2021, for the 30th anniversary of the Halloween blizzard. If you think ghosts and goblins are scary, just try trick or treating in a blizzard. That's what residents in the upper Midwest faced during the historic Halloween blizzard of 1991. The storm was a monster. Here are some terrifying tidbits you might not have known.