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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt has been awarded the state's top honor, the 2019 Idaho Medal of Achievement.
Batt is the third person to receive the medal, joining teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan and the late Idaho human rights activist Marilyn Shuler on the list of recipients.
Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, Gov.-elect Brad Little and former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout presented the award to Batt at a ceremony in Otter's office on Thursday.
Batt, an onion farmer from Wilder, was a state senator and a lieutenant governor before becoming Idaho's 29th governor serving from 1995 to 1999. Throughout his political career the now-91-year-old championed major human rights legislation, including pushing for more protections for farm workers, a minimum wage law, and helping to establish a Commission on Human Rights.
Otter said Batt is a rare leader who transcends political ideology to bring people together.
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