LEWISTON — When Maurice and Dorothea Labrie sit down to watch the Winter Olympics on TV this week, they’ll be looking for more than athletic prowess.

The Shank Street couple hope to catch a glimpse of their grandson, 10-year-old Brennan LaBrie (he spells his last name differently from his grandparents,) the world’s youngest reporter who’ll be covering the Olympics in Vancouver.

Brennan, who lives in Washington, has been penning stories for Time for Kids since last summer. He’s one of a dozen kids picked from about 400 nationally for the weekly magazine’s reporting staff. His dad, Denis, moved out west after growing up in Lewiston.

Brennan LaBrie launched a weekly of his own about two years ago after his elementary school teacher showed him how to staple pages together into a booklet.

“I’m always looking for new projects,” the budding journalist said last week during a phone interview. Circulation of his Spruce Street Weekly soared from 5 to 200 at 25 cents apiece.

He only publishes good news, nothing sad, his proud grandfather said. In addition to writing all of the stories, Brennan composes his own jokes and illustrates the publication.

For the week Brennan plans to be in Vancouver (folks in the community pitched in for his weeklong stay,) he’ll be busy writing Web stories for Time’s kids’ publication. He also is expected to blog for the Tacoma News Tribune and his hometown newspaper, The Leader, in Port Townsend, he said

He was in Vancouver last week for a short pre-Olympics trip.

Brennan has already interviewed some members of the U.S. Olympic team. In November, he chatted with short-track speed skater Apolo Ohno (who won a silver medal on Saturday) and even got a ride on his private plane.

“What does it take to be extraordinary?” LaBrie asked the U.S. Olympian. It’s the extra things you do, Ono told him.

Brennan also interviewed John Furlong, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee, after slipping through a throng of reporters.

Brennan’s small physical stature has served as an asset, he said, allowing him to gain access to places where adults can’t go. He also gets respect from his fellow journalists. Once he got to the front of the pack, the reporters turned their microphones on Brennan, he said.

Maurice Labrie said NBC’s “Today” show called his Lewiston home trying to track down his celebrity grandson. Brennan talked to the show’s producers about making an appearance once he’s settled again in Vancouver, he said, betraying his usual objective reporter’s detachment.

“I am very, very excited,” he said. “I just can’t wait.”

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