Miss Minnesota USA explained

Miss Minnesota USA
Type:	Beauty pageant
Headquarters:	Savage
Location:	Minnesota
Membership:	Miss USA
Language:	English
Key People:	Denise Wallace Craig Heitkamp

The Miss Minnesota USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Minnesota in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Future Productions based in Savage, Minnesota since its inception in 1995, which also directs the state pageants for Colorado, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.^[1]

Barbara Elaine Peterson was the first Miss Minnesota USA to be crowned Miss USA (in 1976), and was also the first Miss USA to not place in the Miss Universe pageant. Her sister, Polly Peterson Bowles, was Miss Minnesota USA 1981.^[2]

In 2016, Halima Aden became the first contestant to compete wearing a burkini, and the first to wear a hijab the entire time.^[3] In 2017, Mikayla Holmgren was the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a statewide Miss USA pageant.^[4]

The current titleholder is Muna Ali of Saint Paul was crowned on June 23, 2024, at Ames Center in Burnsville. She will represent Minnesota at Miss USA 2024.

Results summary

Placements

• Miss USA: Barbara Peterson (1976)
• 2nd runners-up: Deborah Cossette (1977), Meridith Gould (2017)
• 3rd runners-up: Lanore Van Buren (2002)
• 4th runners-up: Kari Lee Johnson (1985)
• Top 6: Angelique de Maison (1995)
• Top 10/12: Jodell Stirmlinger (1952), Carla Reid Peterson (1980), Jolene Stavrakis (1994), Madeline Helget (2022)
• Top 15/19/20: Mary Ann Papke (1953), Dawn Joyce (1954), Kaylee Unverzagt (2008), Erica Nego (2009), Haley O'Brien (2014), Cat Stanley (2019)

Minnesota holds a record of 16 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

• Miss Congeniality: Elizabeth Jane Carroll (1965), Janet Tveita (1990), Dottie Cannon (2006), Amber Davis (2020)
• Miss Photogenic: Paige Swenson (2000), Sarah Cahill (2003)

Winners

Color key

• Declared as Winner
• Ended as runner-up
• Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age^1	width=12%	Local title	data-sort-type=number	Placement	Special awards	width=31%	Notes
2024	Muna Ali	Saint Paul	27	Miss Minnesota City
2023	Sarah Anderson	Maple Grove	20	Miss Maple Grove
2022	Madeline Helget	Clearwater	24	Miss Clearwater	Top 12
2021	Katarina Spasojevic	Minnetonka	20	Miss Minnetonka			Shortest reigning Miss Minnesota USA
2020	Taylor Fondie	Ham Lake	22				Former Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader Longest reigning Miss Minnesota USA
2019	Catherine "Cat" Stanley	Bloomington	23		Top 15		Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2014
2018	Kalie Wright	Eagle Bend	24				Previously National Sweetheart 2014^[5] Previously Miss Idaho 2015^[6]
2017	Meridith Gould	Minneapolis	22		2nd Runner-Up		Previously Miss South Dakota's Outstanding Teen 2012 Previously Miss South Dakota 2014 Eligible as a student of University of Minnesota at the time of crowning
2016	Bridget Jacobs	Maple Grove	20
2015	Jessica Scheu	Prior Lake	23
2014	Haley O'Brien	Excelsior	21		data-sort-value="20"	Top 20		Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2010 Previously Miss Collegiate America 2012
2013	Danielle Hooper	Inver Grove Heights	20
2012	Nitaya Panemalaythong	Savage	26				Born in Thailand
2011	Brittany Thelemann	Plymouth	23				Cousin of Olivia Herbert, Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2019
2010	Courtney Basara	Duluth	20
2009	Erica Nego	Plymouth	24		data-sort-value="12"	Top 15 (12th place)		Later Miss Universe Ghana 2011
2008	Kaylee Unverzagt	Eagan	20		data-sort-value="15"	Top 15 (15th place)
2007	Alla Ilushka	Eden Prairie	22				Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2002 and Top 10 at Miss Teen USA 2002
2006	Dottie Cannon^[7]	Eagan	22			Miss Congeniality
2005	Carrie Lee	Sebeka	25
2004	Jessica Dereschuk	Stacy	20
2003	Sarah Cahill	Waseca	24			Miss Photogenic	Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 1996
2002	Lanore Van Buren	Edina	26		data-sort-value="4"	3rd Runner-Up	Bluepoint Apparel Swimsuit and Fitness Award
2001	Anne Marie Clausen	Golden Valley	23
2000	Paige Swenson	Fridley				Miss Photogenic	Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 1994
1999	Crystal Vandenberg^[8]	Brooklyn Center	19
1998	Josan Hengen	Eden Prairie	19
1997	Melissa Hall	Minneapolis
1996	Karin Smith	Brooklyn Park	25
1995	Angelique de Maison	St. Louis Park			data-sort-value="5"	Finalist (5th place)
1994	Jolene Stravrakis	Burnsville			data-sort-value="10"	Semifinalist (10th place)
1993	Kristi Bennecke^[9]	Anoka
1992	Amber Rue	Minneapolis
1991	April Ann Herke	Eden Prairie
1990	Janet Tveita	Minneapolis				Miss Congeniality
1989	Julie Knutson	Crystal	22
1988	Sue Bolich	Mound			N/A^2
	Jolene Stavrakis	Apple Valley			N/A^2
	Julie Nelson	Bloomington
1987	Christine Rosenberger	South St. Paul
1986	Cynthia Jane Peterson	Edina
1985	Kari Lee Johnson	Minneapolis			data-sort-value="5"	4th Runner-Up
1984	Martha Mork	Edina
1983	Carolyn Mattson	New Hope
1982	Lori Kmetz	New Brighton
1981	Polly Peterson	Edina					sister of Miss USA 1976 Barbara Peterson
1980	Carla Peterson	Albert Lea			data-sort-value="12"	Semifinalist (12th place)
1979	Cynthia Sue Lee	St. Paul
1978	Janey Gohl	St. Cloud
1977	Deborah Cossette	Minneapolis			data-sort-value="3"	2nd Runner-Up
1976	Barbara Elaine Peterson	Edina			data-sort-value="1"	Miss USA 1976		Non-semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1976
1975	Dawn Lamotte	St. Paul
1974	Gayle Johnson	Minneapolis
1973	Cyndi James
1972	Darlene Koskiniemi	Roseville
1971	Shirley Kittleson	Sherburn
1970	Sally Strickland	St. Paul
1969	Laureen Darling	Minneapolis
1968	Arlene Larson
1967	Betty Ann Brewer	Richfield
1966	Patricia Thatcher	Austin
1965	Elizabeth Jane Carroll	Bloomington				Miss Congeniality
1960-64	No Representative
1959	Muriel Fairbanks	Minneapolis
1958	Sue Bouchard
1957	Mary Margaret Ford
1956	Marilyn Johnson
1955	Sally Ann Colombo	Stillwater
1954	Dawn Joyce	Minneapolis			data-sort-value="19"	Semifinalist (Top 19)
1953	Mary Ann Papke				data-sort-value="20"	Semifinalist (Top 20)
1952	Jodell Stirmlinger	St. Paul			data-sort-value="10"	Semifinalist (Top 10)

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant
² Contestant resigned title before the Miss USA pageant

External links

• • Miss Minnesota-USA 2009 Official Website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Future Productions, LLC State Directors. 8 February 2017.
2. News: 3rd Miss Minnesota-USA has 'nothing to hide'. Furst. Randy. 1988-02-11. Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Mpls.-St. Paul. 01A.
3. Web site: Halima Aden Breaks Ground as First Somali-American to Compete for Miss Minnesota USA. 17 November 2016.
4. Web site: Mary . Divine . Standing ovations for first woman with Down syndrome to compete in Miss Minnesota USA . Twin Cities Pioneer Press . November 27, 2017.
5. News: Tetona . Dunlap . . . . Your Neighbor: The Kimberly Woman Crowned Miss National Sweetheart . September 7, 2014.
6. Web site: Kimberly Native Crowned 'Miss Idaho'. magicvalley.com. June 23, 2015.
7. News: Ambition takes local woman to Baltimore; Miss Minnesota USA, Dottie Cannon of Eagan, is competing Friday in the Miss USA pageant. . Star-Tribune. 2006-04-17. Delma. Francis. 10E.
8. Associated Press. New Miss Minnesota-USA, Miss Minnesota Teen USA crowned . 1998-11-30.
9. News: She's got her cap set for an education // 'No. 1 priority is school,' says Miss Minnesota USA . 1992-11-19. Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Mpls.-St. Paul. 07B. Dan. Freeborn.