Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered the flags on the state capitol campus in Olympia to be lowered to half staff this week in honor of Curt Ludwig.

The longtime Benton County prosecutor and former state legislator died this month. He was 83 and lived in the Tri-Cities for 52 years.

A Kennewick Democrat, Ludwig was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1990 and was appointed to a state Senate seat vacated by fellow Democrat Jim Jesernig in 1993 before being unseated in 1994.