BISMARCK (AP) - Gov. Jack Dalrymple is awarding North Dakota's highest honor to state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle.
The chief justice is the 41st recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.
The 81-year-old VandeWalle was re-elected to his fourth 10-year term in November. He is the longest-serving chief justice in state history and the oldest state chief justice in the nation.
VandeWalle is a native of Noonan and a University of North Dakota graduate. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1978 by former Gov. Arthur Link.
Dalrymple will present VandeWalle with the award next month during a joint session of the Legislature.