International Music Camp founder Merton Utgaard will receive North Dakota’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award. Gov. Doug Burgum made the announcement Friday. Utgaard died in 1998 at age 84. He is the 47th recipient of the award. The Maddock native founded the music camp in 1956 at the International Peace Garden that sits astride the North Dakota and Canadian border, north of Dunseith. He served as director for 28 years. At the time of his death, more than 90,000 students from more than 60 countries had attended the summer camp.
Gov. Doug Burgum announced the late Dr. Merton Utgaard, award-winning musician, educator, and founder and long-time director of the International Music Camp, as the 47th recipient of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for its citizens.