Hugo R. Magnuson (May 23, 1900 – May 20, 2003) was an American businessman and politician. He founded the regional

Hugo's Hugo's Family Marketplace is a family-owned chain of supermarket grocery stores located in the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota. It was founded by Hugo and Dorothy Magnuson in 1939. Hugo's is headquartered in the city of Grand Forks, No ...

grocery store chain. He was the mayor of the city of

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, from 1964 to 1972; he also served as a city council member for seventeen years.

Early life

Hugo Ragnar Magnuson was born in Parkers Prairie,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He was one of six children (including Minnie, Ernest, Esther, Hans, and Alfred) born to Carl Victor Magnuson (1863–1949) and Mary Sjobeck Magnuson (1866–1961).

Career

He is best known for the chain of grocery stores which bears his name. He opened his first grocery outlet in Grand Forks in 1939 as a Pure Foods Store. For many years, Magnuson's stores carried the name

Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable ...

. That name was dropped in 1984, with the arrival of a new wholesaler,

Nash Finch Company The Nash Finch Company was an American food distribution and retail company based in Edina, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis). Nash Finch was involved in food distribution to private companies, primarily independent supermarkets, and military co ...

. Hugo's stores are located in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Personal life

He was married to Dorothy (Swenson) Magnuson (1908–1989), with whom he had four children. The city of Grand Forks declared May 2000 as "Hugo Magnuson Month", in honor of his 100th birthday. Magnuson died three days before his 103rd birthday in 2003. He was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota.''Hugo Ragnar Magnuson'' (North Dakota Department of Health)

External links

History of Hugo's

References

1900 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century mayors of places in North Dakota American food company founders American grocers American Lutherans Businesspeople from Minnesota Businesspeople from North Dakota Mayors of Grand Forks, North Dakota American men centenarians North Dakota city council members People from Otter Tail County, Minnesota American retail company founders 20th-century Lutherans {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

External links

References