GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - Grand Forks Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty has been selected to receive the 2012 Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media.
The 85-year-old Hagerty became an Internet sensation earlier this year when her review of the city's new Olive Garden restaurant went viral. She officially retired in 1991 after a decades-long journalism career but still writes five columns a week for the Herald, including "Eatbeat."
The annual award for lifetime achievement is named for USA Today and Freedom Forum founder Al Neuharth, a South Dakota native and 1950 University of South Dakota gradate. It will be presented to Hagerty on Oct. 4 at USD.
Hagerty will be the 26th recipient of the award. Past winners include Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Larry King, Garrison Keillor and Katie Couric.
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