North Dakota
Hartford woman takes home the Miss South Dakota crown
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Kianna Healy of Hartford, South Dakota, was crowned Miss South Dakota 2026 at the competition on May 30.
Twenty-seven women competed for the title, which was a record number of candidates, according to a community announcement.
Healy, 23, graduated from O’Gorman High School and Pace University, where she majored in film and arts and entertainment management.
Healy won a $13,000 scholarship, a $1,000 preliminary talent award, a $500 preliminary fitness award and the $500 Callee Bauman Wachter top performing arts award.
Healy’s community service initiative is The Second Chance Project. For her talent, she performed “I’m a Star” by Scott Alan.
She is set to represent South Dakota at the Miss America Competition in September.
First runner-up was Amelie Wilcox of Rapid City, who earned a $5,000 scholarship. Wilcox also received the $5,000 South Dakota Strong award, the overall interview award ($1,000), a $1,000 community service award and the $500 Hunter Widvey Medical scholarship. She also took home the $1,000 Ray Peterson Rookie of the Year award for being the highest placing delegate competing at Miss South Dakota for the first time.
Second runner-up was Sydney Morgan of Hot Springs, who received a $4,000 scholarship and the $500 STEM scholarship. Third runner-up was Katie Milbrandt of Brookings, who earned a $3,000 scholarship and the $1,000 Quality of Life Award. Briley Steffensen of Hartford was fourth runner-up and won a preliminary fitness award, totaling $2,500 in awards and scholarships.
The top ten semi-finalists, each receiving a $750 scholarship, were Thea Tanton of Brookings, Lilly Mae Blume of Redfield, Javonte Madsen of Sioux Falls, Rylin Yerdon of Harrisburg and Natalie Biegler of Timber Lake. Tanton and Biegler tied for the preliminary talent award.
Additional awards included Laney Titze of Mitchell receiving $1,000 in the South Dakota Strong competition. Olivia Granaas, Jensine Matson and Taysan Rouselle each won $500 in the same category. Kyla Andvik of Fargo, North Dakota, earned the most talented non-semifinalist award ($250), while Jenisha Gurung received the highest score for non-finalist in interview ($250). The top fundraiser award ($500) went to Jayden Bender.
Miss Congeniality ($500) was awarded to Miss Northern State University Evelynn Carlson of Aberdeen. Each non-semi-finalist received a $300 scholarship, with total scholarships exceeding $60,000 for all participants.
This story was created by reporter Charles Rankin, crankin@salina.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.