Longtime Michigan retail reporter dies at 66

Mary Radigan, a longtime retail reporter for the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, died Friday due to complications from a stroke. She was 66.

Shandra Martinez of MLive.com writes, “One of the state’s best known retail reporters, Radigan covered the movers and shakers in the industry from Hy Berkowitz,  whose Rogers was famous as one of the few locally owned department stores remaining in Michigan to Fred and his son Hank Meijer who are legends in supercenter retailing.

“Radigan earned their respect by chronicling the ups and downs of the business.

“When Meijer was going through some dramatic layoffs at its headquarters, Radigan headed over to the parking lot to look for employees to interview. She was sitting in her SUV on the bitterly cold morning, when she saw Fred Meijer walk by and waved. She invited him to climb in her warm car where they talked about the layoffs.

“Much to the chagrin of the company’s public relations department, Fred Meijer shared what a hard time it was for the family business, recalls Nancy Crawley, former Press business editor.

“‘Meijer corporate PR, which wanted to control the flow of information, was furious when they found out, but Fred didn’t care,’ said Crawley. ‘He trusted Mary to tell the story straight and of course she did.’

“Hank Meijer, who worked for the Press before joining the family grocery business, said he appreciated Radigan’s mix of curiosity, sincerity and scrupulous skepticism that distinguish a talented reporter.”

Read more here.