The Miss Minnesota USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in the

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

pageant. It is directed by Future Productions based in

Savage, Minnesota Savage ( ) is a suburban city south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city is on the south bank of the Minnesota River in a region commonly called ''South of the River,'' comprising the south ...

since its inception in 1995, which also directs the state pageants for

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. 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. In 2016,

Halima Aden Halima Aden (; born September 19, 1997) is an American fashion model. She is noted for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA 2016 pageant, where she was a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halim ...

became the first contestant to compete wearing a burkini, and the first to wear a hijab the entire time. In 2017, Mikayla Holmgren was the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in a statewide Miss USA pageant. The current titleholder is Muna Ali of

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

was crowned on June 23, 2024, at Ames Center in Burnsville. She will represent Minnesota at

Miss USA 2024 Miss USA 2024 was the 73rd Miss USA pageant, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, United States, on August 4, 2024. Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii crowned Alma Cooper of Michigan as her successor at the end of the event. Sh ...

Gallery of titleholders

File:Barbara Peterson in White House (cropped).jpg, Barbara Peterson, Miss Minnesota USA 1976 & Miss USA 1976 File:Kaylee Unverzagt headshot.png, Kaylee Unverzagt, Miss Minnesota USA 2008 File:Kalie Wright Miss Minnesota USA 2018.jpg,

Kalie Wright Kalie Kathleen Wright Korfe (born April 27, 1993) is an American beauty pageant titleholder and entrepreneur. Wright was crowned National Sweetheart, Miss National Sweetheart 2014 and Miss Idaho 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title ...

, Miss Minnesota USA 2018

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

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

References

External links

*
Miss Minnesota-USA 2009 Official Website
{{Miss USA state

Minnesota culture Women in Minnesota Recurring events established in 1952 Annual events in Minnesota 1952 establishments in Minnesota