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.