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 pageant. It is directed by Future Productions based in Savage, Minnesota 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 ...

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

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, 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 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 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