BP woman hits it big on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

You have Tricia Forsberg to thank for the collective gasp – then cheer – you may have heard all over southern Minnesota a couple of weeks ago.

She’s the Blooming Prairie resident who took a whirlwind 48-hour trip to Los Angeles, appeared on “Wheel of Fortune,” stunned the audience, and brought home $122,000 in cash and prizes.

If only it were that simple.

Tryouts

“The Wheel,” as it’s known colloquially, is Forsberg’s favorite show; “in fact, we watch it every day during the week,” she said. “The goal is that I have dinner ready by 6:30, so we can all sit and watch it while we’re eating.”

Her husband Andy Forsberg calls it her “stories,” akin to people who never miss a soap opera.

“He’s not a fanatic like I am, but he does really enjoy it,” she said, “so we watch it all the time. The running joke was, ‘you should go on this show!’ – because it took me four years of applying to make it on the show.”

It requires an online application and a one-minute video about yourself; the more unique, the better.

“They want to get to know you and your personality,” Forsberg said, “and if they like you, then you get an interview with a producer.”

In the summer of 2024, she got that interview, then moved on to the next round, which was meeting with other contestants and doing practice games against them. Both rounds are done via Zoom.

“They tell you at the end of that, ‘if you don’t hear from us in 12 months, you can apply again,’” she said.

When July 2025 rolled around, her 12 months were up – so Forsberg submitted a new video with her online application. She ended up with an interview and four Zoom auditions, “so it’s a pretty rigorous process.”

There were more practice games against other potential contestants, and “you also have to solve bonus round puzzles by yourself that are timed while you’re on (the call) with the producer.”

Once again, she thought it went well, but was given the same advice: “If you don’t hear from us in 12 months, try again.”

Soon, it was January, then February, then March.

“I hadn’t heard a thing,” but the family still watched during dinner, Forsberg quick with the answers.

Andy continued the running joke, which became a running punchline.

“He’d say, ‘you need to go on this show,” and I’d say, ‘I’m trying!’”

At the end of March, the email came. Forsberg was selected to “join us on April 9 at Sony Studios.”

Studio City

Forsberg flew to Los Angeles on April 8 with her husband and sister; she was instructed to be at the studio by 6:45 a.m. April 9. It was a long day, and the trio flew home April 10.

The cost of the flight is not covered by the show, but every contestant is guaranteed at least $1,000 – even if they don’t solve a puzzle. That’s typically enough to cover airfare.

The preparations on the day of the taping were done in the Jeopardy Studio. Hair and makeup were completed, and spots were drawn for where they would stand during the game.

“I was standing right next to (host) Ryan (Seacrest), so I was really excited about that,” she said.

Vanna White, letter-turner extraordinaire, “came in at 7 a.m. to talk to us,” Forsberg said. “She just had on jeans, her hair back in a ponytail, no makeup. She just looked like a very sweet lady; you didn’t see her all glammed up until the show.”

White and Seacrest, she said, “were both very gracious hosts.”

There was a short rehearsal period, which included the most important part: “We got to go into the Wheel studio and practice spinning it, because it’s a big, heavy, wooden wheel. It weighs 2,000 pounds,” Forsberg said. “I mean, it’s well-oiled, but you really have to get used to spinning it.”

They did some practice puzzles, too, which she said was fun, “but you also learned that your competitors are there to play. Like, everyone was very good. Sometimes, you see someone on TV and they don’t solve (much), but I guarantee you they solved a lot to get to that spot.”

Onto the stage

Her introduction included the fact that she was from Blooming Prairie, lived on a hobby farm and, if she won, “our 11-year-old daughter said she wanted a Highland cow,” which Forsberg described as “an Emo cow” because of its long bangs.

Though another contestant answered the first two puzzles, “once I got the big one, I’m like, ‘OK, I can do this,’ and I had a lot more confidence.”

It was also a lesson in preparation. The category was “What Are You Doing?” and Forsberg knew what she needed to do.

Most of the puzzles in that category end in “ing,” so those letters would be key.

Neither of the other contestants, who spun before her, made those guesses.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Forsberg said.

She capitalized on that, solving the answer: Making a mountain out of a molehill.

The win gave her $1,700 – and probably left home puzzlers yelling at their screens, because she didn’t keep spinning to guess M or L. Both would have tripled whatever dollar amount she spun.

It was part of her strategy – developed that day – to play defensively.

“I didn’t want to risk getting a bankrupt or lose a turn,” Forsberg said. “I’d rather win a smaller amount of money than let someone else win it.”

She’d been at lunch with a woman from the day’s earlier games who had hit “bankrupt” on the wheel, and lost the game.

“She said to me, ‘my mom told me if I know it, to solve it; don’t get greedy. I knew it; I should have listened to my mom,’ and that stuck with me,” Forsberg said – and it formed her winning ways.

Watching it back, though, “I’m like, oh, I could have gone for more money, but in that moment, I followed the plan,” she laughed.

The prizes

By the end of the main round, Forsberg had solved five puzzles, picking up $11,400 in cash and a trip to England worth another $10,598 to advance to the final round.

She selected the “What Are You Wearing?” category, gave the prize wheel a spin, and the usual letters of R,S,T,N,L and E were revealed.

The puzzle looked like this: _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ T S

Forsberg said her initial thought was that the second word was “pants,” but quickly realized it was lacking the N – and just as quickly knew it had to be “boots.”

She was allowed three more consonants and a vowel: She chose B, C, G and O.

Then the puzzle looked like this: C O _ B O _  B O O T S

Forsberg smiled, took a breath and solved the puzzle. Moments later, she learned she’d landed on the top prize as Seacrest revealed she’d won $100,000.

“I mean, I consider myself very fortunate in life,” Forsberg said, “but I’ve never been, like, lucky.”

While her puzzle-solving took skill, “there is a lot of luck” in the spins.

When the camera panned to her husband Andy, he smiled and said, “looks like I’m buying a cow.”

The aftermath

Forsberg could tell immediate friends and family about her win, but couldn’t post anything on social media until the week prior to the show’s air date.

“I didn’t even tell my sibling or my parents, so they were shocked,” she said. Her husband and sister knew, of course, but her daughter – who wanted that cow, remember – was not told.

“She knew that I won a lot, but she also knew that if she told anyone, Mom won’t get the money,” Forsberg said, laughing.

She got the money, and now, they’re getting not one, but two Highland cows.

“While I wasn’t telling anyone what I won, we were starting to plan here,” Forsberg said, working with Flatland Farms out of Elkton, who raise registered Scottish Highland cows.

“We have horses and donkeys already, but we’re learning a lot,” she said. “Even though the Highland cows are so docile, their horns could accidentally puncture the hide of an equine, so we have to have a separate place on the farm for them, so they’re not mingling with the horses and donkeys.”

Flatland Farms is expecting some steers to be born soon; “we’ll go pick out when two we want, and they’ll be ready to come home in the fall,” Forsberg said.

The cows “can just be peaceful-living, hobby farm animals, and they’ll be very loved and have a wonderful place to live.”

She and her husband – who grew up in Green Bay, Wis., and Minneapolis, respectively – are content with their 10-acre hobby farm just north of Blooming Prairie.

“We’re a blended family, and we love our little clan and love the life we’re giving them, and it’s really good,” Forsberg said, with son Alex, 23; Annaka, a 2024 graduate of Blooming Prairie High School; Greyson Herz and Peyton Herz, who both attend St. Mary’s School in Owatonna.

Their miniature donkeys are named Bruce Springsteen and Sancho Panza, a nod to Don Quixote, “but I like to name my animals after musicians.”

She told Seacrest if she were able to get a Highland cow, she would name it Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel.

Though Seacrest laughed, the stage crew was brainstorming.

After the show, one of the stage managers approached Forsberg with a suggestion, one that her family is implementing.

Coming soon to a pasture near you: Phil Cowlins and Peter Haybriel.