Hello Everyone! I am Amanda Murphy, Miss Midwest. I was raised in Glencoe, MN and currently attend the University of Minnesota in Morris, MN, where I am majoring in Management with a Financial emphasis, and minoring in Economics. I plan to attend graduate school for Marketing and Finance. More personally, my favorite color is blue, and I enjoy playing trumpet and following the stock market. I also love art, and am a freelance apparel designer. My family and friends are an important component in my life, and I am so grateful for their support.

My platform is "America's Troops: In Need of Our Support Today." This platform was inspired by a friend who is currently serving in Iraq, who told me that he does not want this war to be a waste of his time and a waste of the ultimate sacrifice others have made. What we as Americans need to realize is that the troops are in desperate need of our support; and I firmly believe that every person - whether or not the support the war or President Bush - can, and should, support our troops. As part of this platform, I have been traveling to local schools, talking to children and encouraging them to say thank you and make greeting cards to send to the troops. I have also been collecting supplies to send to military men and women who are from the areas I have visited. This has been a very rewarding platform, and seeing children's enthusiasm is simply uplifting and inspiring in itself.

I must echo everyone else in saying the Miss Minnesota weekend was definitely enjoyable! It was wonderful to meet everyone and I am looking forward to our week in June! I am sure we will all be busy until then - I know I will be! - but it sounds like a great week! Best of luck to everyone as we prepare for June!
~Amanda

Lacey Gebeke - Miss Frazee - Hey Everyone!

Hello Everyone. I am Lacey Gebeke Miss Frazee 2006. My platform is "Overcoming Obstacles: When Life Runs You Over." I was in a bad car accident at the age of 7 and my platform focuses on helping children who have endured a physical accident. I go into the hospital and play games, color, watch tv, and help children overcome whatever happened to them. It's a very scary place in the hospital, especially for children. Trying to walk again and overcoming your new scars can be a tough thing to do by yourself.

I'm currently at NDSU in Fargo, North Dakota. I have a week and 2 finals left! Next year I'll be attending UND for Registered Nursing. I currently work at Menards, :) I think it's funny that I work there but it's a fun job. I am looking forward to summer because I live on a lake and when the sun is out so am I. I'm also excited for the week we all get to spend together :) , it's going to be so much fun!

I really enjoyed meeting all of contestants and finding out what we are going to be doing all week long! We have a pretty busy exciting week and I'm glad we all get to share this great experience together! I can not wait to see you all again!

p.s. I didn't put my pictures in until the end, so that is why it looks funny. I'm a little computer challenged.

Greetings from Miss Perham!

This is Danielle Refsland, the current title holder of Miss Perham. What an honor it has been to be an ambassador for my favorite town. Perham is in west-central Minnesota near Detroit Lakes. We are literally in the heart of lakes. Perham is a great vacation spot if you are looking for some good fishing! In addition, Perham has a great main street filled with many fun shops. Come visit!

My platform that I have promoted throughout this year is titled "Kick Start- Helping Kids to Finish Strong." The program encourages children to make changes in their eating behaviors and activeness to ultimately live a heathful life! Through the title of Miss Perham, I have worked with the health center in Perham. I taught a Kid's Cardio Class throughout the winter to promote physical fitness. In addition, I offered a class on a day of no school to elementary students. These were eventful opportunities that drove my desire to educate parents and children to live healthy even more. As Miss Perham, I am given the honor to write in the local newspaper. This has given me the chance to inform the readers of the newspaper of simple ways to eat healthy and stay fit.

I am extremely excited to compete at Miss Minnesota in June! I have learned so much about myself throughout this year. More importantly, I have realized that I really can make a difference in my community, with or without a crown. This is a lesson anyone can implement into their lives. In order to make a change, set a goal, make a plan, and strive to achieve it!

Signing off,

Danielle Refsland

Miss Perham 2006

Miss Anoka County says "Hi" to you!

I had a dream last night that I tried to post on here, and ended up posting like 30 pictures instead of typing a post. Hopefully, my lack of technological knowledge will not lead me to such a fate, but only time will tell. Now, to the formal introduction....

Hello to one and all, my name is Colleen Meyer and I have been blessed with the title of Miss Anoka County 2007. It still feels incredibly surreal to be able to say that. As a native of Anoka County (I was raised in Andover), I am so excited to have this opportunity to represent the community that has helped to shape me into the woman I am today. I am currently a junior at the University of St. Thomas, with a biology major and psychology minor. My most recent accomplishment has been the completion of the five and a half hour Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), which will hopefully aid me in my goal of gaining entrance to a medical school somewhere in the Midwest.

My platform, "Focus on the Family" promotes the importance of family involvement in successful child development. The need for family is something that has been deeply rooted in me since birth, and was reaffirmed by knowledge I gained in a psychology of marriage and family class I took for my psychology minor. I emphasize the positive benefits of a healthy home-life, as well as the need to recognize a broader idea of "family" within our country--a family that not only includes relatives but trusted friends and neighbors. I have developed a program, called "Who's in your family?" for children ages 5-11 which promotes this message and also excites children about having their family involved in their daily life.

As one can guess, the people in my family are incredibly important to me. They have been essential in the completion of all tasks and accomplishments throughout my life. From the day I was born they have supported me in everything I do, from attending various choral performances while I was in grade school to surprising me with their very own rendition of "We are Family" at my senior dance recital, as seen in the picture (they actually weren't half bad).

I will have to agree with the rest of the girls that contestant forum was a blast. It was fun to either meet everyone for the first time, or see them again, and I know we have lots of good times ahead of us, and that we will be prepared for anything, especially after our "Project Runway" experience. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and to continue on in my journey as Miss Anoka County 2007.

Until next time, peace and God bless, and prayers to those suffering from the tragic events at Virginia Tech.

Liz Wandersee - Miss Waseca County Sleigh and Cutter

Hello everyone!

My name is Liz Wandersee and I am the current Miss Waseca County Sleigh and Cutter. I was born in Arizona but raised in Waseca since I was 2! I am currently attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities majoring in Family Social Science.



My platform is The Forgotten Generation: Connecting Youth and the Elderly. It focuses on getting youth more involved through volunteering with the elderly. Whether it be elementary students, high schoolers, or college students, everyone can do their part!



Some of the things I have worked on in my community involve:

Relay for Life, Meals on Wheels, The Waseca Marching Classic, Hospice Memorial Tree Service, Dream Catcher Bingo, of course the Sleigh and Cutter Festival, and working with students to hand out St. Patrick's Day cards to the elderly of the community.

All of the contestants had a workshop this past weekend where we were able to meet each other and have some quality bonding time making a Project Runway dress for the fashion show that night out of some unconventional materials! It was a great time and now I cannot wait for June to come to see everyone again!!

Miss Coon Rapids~Cori Shellum

Hello Family and Friends! I am very excited to be apart of this amazing group of women! My name is Cori Shellum, and I am honored to hold the title as Miss Coon Rapids.

I was born and raised in Cottage Grove, MN with my parents: Kathy and Don, and my three older sisters: Heather (Brian) Sandkuhler, Heidi (Bruce) Bredlow, and Colleen Shellum. I have five nephews: Tyler, Trey, Trygg, Jeff, and Andrew and a beautiful princess niece Princess Claire.

Coon Rapids means so much to me, because this community has helped me become the woman I am today. I attended Anoka Ramsey Community College where I was a member of the women's basketball team (we took 4th in the nation). I also student taught at Hamilton Elementary School while I was a student at Winona State. I graduated Cum Laude from Winona State University with a double major in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education K-6.

I currently teach preschool full time at Peace of Mind Academy in Woodbury, MN. I am also pursuing my Master's Degree in Education K-12. I will graduate in May 2008!!!

Being an educator, I feel literacy is vital to the success of our younger generation. This is why I have chosen to promote Beads on One String, a book by Minnesota author Dennis Warner. This book emphasizes the importance of recognizing the things we have in common with each other and accepting our differences as ways we are unique. I enjoy traveling around Minnesota with Dennis Warner to promote this message.

The Contestant Forum was such a memorable time! I am looking forward to our week together at Miss Minnesota, because I know the memories we create together will be long-lasting!

Kasandra Meehl Miss Northwest

Hello everyone,

I am Kasandra Meehl Miss Northwest 2006. I was raised in Perham, MN with my parents Tim and Denise, two sisters Kayla and Kelli, and my nephew Bryce and niece Bree. I currently attend MSU Moorhead for Secondary Education with an emphasis in Mathematics.

My platform: Character Education - Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship, focuses on the Implementation of Character Development in the K-12 setting. Using TRRFCC (Terrific), an acronym for the 6 pillars of Character Education, students and teachers learn how to use, demonstrate, and maintain life skills for success.

I have developed components of the Character Education program in Detroit Lakes, MN and over the last 8 years I have worked on developing many mentorship programs in Perham, MN and surrounding communites. Through my passion for educational enhancment programs I have reached over 4000 students and many thousands of parents and community members.

This past weekend at Miss MN contestant forum was a very informative weekend. I learned key details about the Miss Mn week, pageant, and a little about each of the contestants. We all had a blast working on our project runway cocktail dresses; I can definitely say that I look forward to meeting up again with my group, The Fabulous Five.

Hi everyone! I am very excited about the idea of all of the contestants writing a bit about themselves so that the wonderful State of Minnesota can get to know all of us just a little bit better. On that note, here is a little about me:

Title: Miss Twin Cities 2007

Platform: "Get Up & Move" -I talk to kids about why it's important to live a healthy lifestyle. I have partnered with the American Heart Association as well as a local program here in the Twin Cities called "Power Hour." I love my platform and it's very important to me!

Hometown: Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Educational background: University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management - 2006 Graduate with a degree in Marketing

I was crowned last out of all of the locals - February 24, 2007, so it was quite the rush to get everything ready for our workshop, which was held this past weekend (April 14-15). At workshop I got to meet all of the fabulous contestants and the entire Miss Minnesota board. We even had the opportunity to design our own dress, Project Runway style, which was a complete blast! But overall, I am very much looking forward to learning more about each contestant and, of course, I can't wait for Miss Minnesota week. Until next time!!

Cindy Neseth
Miss Twin Cities 2007

Miss Brainerd Lakes

Hello everyone! I am Mackenzie Ross, Miss Brainerd Lakes 2006. My platform is titled Invest, Involve, Vote which focuses on investing in our nation by being involved in our government at the local, state and national level and of course voting.

I'm currently attending school at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. With hopes of obtaining my AA degree this spring. This past fall I completed an internship in Washington D.C at the White House. I worked in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, specifically the Gift Office. It was an extremely exciting time to be in 'the District' during an election year.

I really enjoyed the Contestant Forum weekend. It was exciting to meet everyone and very informative. I particular enjoyed the Fashion Gala because my group won!!!!! :) I'm looking forward to pageant week and getting to know all the contestants better!

In Their Own Words

Many people have expressed interest in being able to keep in touch with news from local titleholders in Minnesota. This blog will do just that! Each of the 15 contestants will be posting with photos, appearances, and thoughts as State Week approaches. I hope you'll check back here regularly to see what these extraordinary young women are doing in their communities.

Ladies, take it away!

-Nicole Swanson-
Miss MN 2006