Chuck Haga

May 27, 1949 to May 11, 2025

Chuck Haga – also known as Chaga but not as Charlie or Charles – died a few minutes past midnight on Mother's Day, May 11, 2025. Death came after a long struggle with cancer that metastasized in his big brain.

A big brain was only part of the largeness of the man. He was a giant physically and he was a giant of journalism. His friends were many and his interests wide.

Haga was born in Valley City, N.D., on May 27, 1949. He attended UND and began his career in journalism at the Dakota Student.

He married his high school sweetheart, Marci Falstad, had a son, Peter, and despite divorcing (Marci remarried as Myer), they remained close to the end.

His professional career began at the Grand Forks Herald. He spent years covering Grand Forks city politics, North Dakota and Minnesota politics and writing feature stories about the notable and unknown – with each feature story revealing something noble about the person described.

Chaga drew that sort of thing out of his subjects.

Later he moved to the Twin Cities and worked at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (now known as the Minnesota Star-Tribune, a change Chaga objected to). He liked the old ways.

Chaga took his turn at international subjects, too, including a yearlong Rotary fellowship in Norway, writing about Norway and Norwegians, visiting other European countries and writing about his adventures with the people he met. He also reported from Central America.

One notable Chaga project was retracing John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley." Twice he undertook "friendship tours" as he drove the nation's highways visiting old friends and making new ones – and telling Herald readers all about it in his weekly column.

For several years after his retirement from full-time work at the Herald, he taught journalism at UND – ushering a new generation into one of the world's most interesting undertakings.

He was a keen cribbage player and turned a hawk-like eye on any opponent who tried to peg an unearned hole.

He loved Itasca State Park and visited and wrote often about his adventures there.

Charles R. Haga was the last of four siblings (older brothers Thomas and Gerald and little sister Caroline), children of Lars and Eleanor Haga, both dead before Chaga finished his first year of college.

At UND, he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and a valued member of the Dakota Student staff. He was editor of the paper from 1969 to 1971.

Survivors are his son, Pete, of Grand Forks and his wife Jessica, and his grandchildren Mason, Morgan and Emma, the lights of his life and the focus of his affection and every conversation.

An open house-style "Celebration of Life" will take place at the Gorecki Alumni Center from 4 to 6 p.m. on May 27, which would have been his 76th birthday.

The family would like to thank Chuck's long-time friend and colleague, Mike Jacobs, for this tribute. These two news giants forged a friendship unlike many others, and we're eternally grateful.