A new pageant made history Saturday in Minnesota.

The first Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant took place at Hamline University in St. Paul. It was founded by Angel Jones, whose daughter DaMaris represented Minnesota at the third annual National Miss Juneteenth Pageant in 2022 in Galveston, Texas.

Jones founded the local Miss Juneteenth nonprofit with the mission to create a platform that will provide Black women with educational, networking and career opportunities. One of the main objectives of the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota Pageant is to help women of color rediscover their history and heritage by educating them about the purpose of Juneteenth by exposing their gifts and talents in a pageant setting, Jones said.

Saturday’s pageant kicked off with the Rev. William Pierce from Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis opening with a prayer. Then, Monique Blakey took the stage and led everyone in the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The pageant consisted of five divisions: Little Miss Juneteenth, ages 6 to 9; Junior Miss Juneteenth, ages 10 to 13; Teen Miss Juneteenth, ages 14 to 18; Miss Juneteenth, ages 19 to 24; and Ms. Juneteenth, ages 25 to 30.

Twenty-one contestants graced the stage as they were not judged by beauty but on talents, professionalism, stage presence and confidence.

The first category showcased physical fitness. Each contestant strutted down the stage, demonstrating the significance of fitness in their life.

Then contestants showed off a personal talent. Talents included dancing, singing, artwork, reciting poetry and public speaking.

Last was the evening gown competition, followed by a short question-and-answer round.

Between categories, different people showed off their talents to celebrate and recognize Juneteenth and Black culture.

Joe Davis, a local poet, recited an original poem titled “It’s Our Time.” Monica Fountain, a writer and educator, spoke on rediscovering culture and redefining freedom. Step with Soul, a nonprofit that “empowers the youth through the art of stepping,” performed multiple routines for the audience.

Nearing the end of the pageant, one contestant was crowned from each division by 2022 Miss Juneteenth DaMaris Marjett Jones.

“In these past few weeks, watching them grow and learn new things about themselves, I feel very excited to see what they get to do in the future,” Jones said.

Here are the winners of the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant:

The winners smile to the crowd at the end of the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota 2024 pageant. From left: Miss Juneteenth 2022 DaMaris Marjett Jones, Little Miss Juneteenth Ceray’na Alexander, Junior Miss Juneteenth Lamaria Swain, Teen Miss Juneteenth Kamira Nelson, Miss Juneteenth Breona Maynard and Ms. Juneteenth Khadijah Lamah. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

Little Miss Juneteenth Ceray’na Alexander: She showed her talent by dancing to “This is Me” by Keala Settle and when she grows up, she wants to be an actor.

Junior Miss Juneteenth Lamaria Swain: Her favorite subject in school is English and she has a natural talent for dancing.

Teen Miss Juneteenth Kamira Nelson: What she’s going to take away from this competition is “feeling more comfortable in her Black skin and Black hair.” She showed off her singing and rapping skills and next year she plans on enlisting in the U.S. Air Force.

Miss Juneteenth Breona Maynard: She has a talent for painting and, to her, a good role model is someone who is caring and loving at all times regardless of the circumstances.

Ms. Juneteenth Khadijah Lamah: She’s a second-grade teacher and gave a speech with the memorable words, “Black women, stand up and take space.” In her opinion, the most challenging issue for younger generations is low academic rates. She also hopes to see more Black and brown teachers in schools.

“I worked really hard, and so did all the other women. It just feels amazing to see your hard work come to fruition,” Lamah said.

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Roseville sophomore Jayda Wilson finished fifth in the pole vault at the state meet a year ago.

And she learned some valuable lessons in the process.

“The environment here is so different,” she said. “Normally you start at a lower height, and you have some time to adjust. Here you have to make it happen a lot quicker.”

Wilson got the job done when she needed to Saturday, winning the pole vault with a height of 12 feet during competition at the Class 3A girls state track and field meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

“I passed on the first three heights and came in at 11 (feet),” she said. “That helped make it seem more normal to me.”

Winning a state title as a sophomore will increase expectations for the rest of Wilson’s career. She said she’s ready for that.

“I just want to keep improving and keep going higher,” she said.

— Lakeville North took home the state title in the girls 4×100 relay in a time of 48.24 seconds. Champlin Park was second in a time of 48.38.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said senior Lauren Reynolds, who pushed through health issues this season and ran the anchor leg Saturday. “This was just the most perfect way to end my senior year, especially in a season where there’s been some setbacks. To see the way we all ran today was amazing.”

— Lakeville North senior Trinity Wilson finished second in the girls shot put with a throw of 42-feet, 4 1/2 inches. Rogers junior Anya Schmidt won the event with a throw of 43-11 3/4.

— Stillwater junior Liberty Quast had a full day, finishing third in the 100 (12.00), sixth in the 200 (12.09) and eighth in the triple jump (36-2.5). She also ran a leg of Stillwater’s 4X100 team, which finished fifth (48.78).

“I was very happy with how today went,” she said. “I surprised myself by running 12 flat in the 100 and finishing top three. I was really happy with that.”

Roseville eighth grader Emani Yarbrough finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 37-2.

— Hastings junior Carlee Kordosky finished second in the 100 hurdles in 14.55. Minnetonka senior Claire Kohler won in 13.86. Kohler also won the 300 hurdles in 42.16.

— St. Paul Central junior Laura McClary finished third in the 1,600 in 4:55.80.

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For all the success Irondale senior Juriad Hughes Jr. has achieved over the course of his high school track and field career, the 100-meter dash has remained a bit of a sore spot.

As a sophomore, Hughes qualified for the state finals but false-started. As a junior, a bad day at the section meet meant he didn’t even qualify for state in the event.

“The 100 was the hump for sure,” said Hughes, who will run at NCAA Division I Arkansas next season. “I needed to get over it. I really wanted to leave my stamp on that event.”

He did just that Saturday, winning the 100 in a wind-aided time of 10.35 seconds during competition at the Class 3A boys state track and field meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

Hughes ran the race in between leaps in the long jump, where he defended his state title with a distance of 24 feet, 5 1/4 inches. He finished the afternoon by winning the 200 in 21.22. Apple Valley senior Dwyne Smith Jr. finished second in 21.43.

“It felt good,” Hughes said of his day. “It was a great way to end my high school career.”

Smith, meanwhile, won the 400 in 47.55. He finished fourth in the 100 in a time of 10.72.

“(Hughes and I) run together in summer track,” Smith said of his matchups with Hughes. “And we’ve run against each other for a couple of years now. It’s great competition between us, but we’re really good friends.”

— Roseville junior Robert Mechura completed a Class 3A distance sweep Saturday, winning the 1,600-meter run in 4:08.89.

He won the 3,200 Thursday and the Class 3A state cross country title last fall.

“The cross country one was really special because it was my first state championship and I was ranked second most of the season, so I was kind of an underdog,” said Mechura, who has already committed to run at Division I North Carolina.

“But today was exciting too because my whole high school career, I haven’t always had the most speed. But I’ve worked at it, and I saw the results in this race.”

— Rosemount senior Maki Whelan won the 300 hurdles in 38.00. Lakeville North senior Tyler Christianson was second (38.50). Whelan finished third in the 110 hurdles in 14.26.

“If I get to the backstretch and I’m not far off, I feel good about my chances,” he said. “When I got to the sixth hurdle today, I was in first place. So I knew I had it.”

Whelan’s efforts helped Rosemount repeat as state team champions with 53 points, edging Wayzata by one point.

“We’ve had a run of exceptional kids the last six or seven years,” Irish head coach Jay Hatless said. “That’s put us in a position to be in it every year and that’s been a lot of fun.”

— The Mounds View boys 4×400 relay team placed first in 3:18.73. The Mustangs were second in the 4×200 in 1:27.23.

— Brainerd senior Dylan Gross won the discus with a throw of 184-6. Centennial senior Timothy Ball was second (177-8) and Mounds View senior Luke Van Oort was third (177-6).

— Lakeville North began the day by bringing home a state title in the 4×800 relay, improving on a second-place finish in the event a year ago. The Panthers finished in a time of 7:54.27. Eden Prairie finished second in a time of 7:55.71.

“We came into this with an in-the-mix mindset,” said junior Darby Griffin, who ran the anchor leg and went on to finish eighth in the 800.

“We were confident we had a chance to come out on top and it all worked out.”

This year, all 134 seats of the Minnesota House are up for re-election. Many of those races are a done deal and will go to an incumbent or whatever political party holds sway in the region.

However, three state races in particular may be a bellwether of the state’s political leanings in the future, particularly in northeastern and southeastern Minnesota.

Both regions have already shifted and this election could signal the end of, or the beginning of, a fight for which party controls those regions.

While the rest of southeastern Minnesota is seemingly still in Republican control, its biggest county, Olmsted, began its move left in the 2008 presidential election, when voters threw tepid support behind Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Today, this once moderately conservative regional center has become a solidly Democratic outpost , at times more aligned with the Twin Cities in its values and politics than with the more conservative rural counties that surround it.

Rochester DFLers Andy Smith and Kim Hicks will face a newer type of Republican challengers modeled after the MAGA movement led by former President Donald Trump.

Hicks, who was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2022, faces Ken Navitsky, a Rochester sales executive.

Navitsky said he is running to reduce crime, cut red tape and lower taxes, and improve the education system.

Navitsky ran in the GOP special election primary that resulted in the election of Rep. Brad Finstad to replace the late Jim Hagedorn in the 1st Congressional District. Navitsky also ran to represent Senate District 25 in 2022 but lost to DFL Sen. Liz Boldon.

Smith’s opponent, Wes Lund, also has many standard Republican stances like lower taxes and tougher judicial sentences. He has become a fixture in Rochester politics and often posts videos on social media attacking Rochester Mayor Kim Norton or condemning what he views as a city run by incompetent liberals.

Both Smith and Hicks have campaigned on securing reproductive rights, affordable health care and protecting the environment.

Northeast Minnesota faces a dynamic similar to the one in Olmsted County, though there the DFL is the party on its back foot with its continued loss of voter support in the Iron Range.

Recently, Rep. David Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, announced he would not seek re-election. He was first elected to the House in 2018 and his decision has left a vacuum that three candidates, one DFLer and two Republicans, hope to fill.

For the DFL, Lorrie Janatopoulos isn’t exactly a political newcomer. She unsuccessfully ran for a St. Louis County Commissioner seat in 2010 for a Minnesota House in 2012.

She previously worked for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency in Virginia, Minn., and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

On her campaign site, she said her local roots will help her address issues including workforce development, education and natural resource management.

She’s likely to face off against Carl Warwas, the GOP-endorsed candidate in the race, in November.

A union steelworker, Warwas is the type of politician who has slowly eroded the DFL’s hold in northeast Minnesota. His focus on expanding mining opportunities in the Iron Range is something Janatopoulus will have to contend with as November draws closer.

Despite winning the GOP endorsement, Warwas will face Matt Matasich in the August primary.

Matasich has unsuccessfully run for seats in the Legislature from 2000 to 2016 and for St. Louis County Commissioner in 2022.

During his 2022 campaign, he said that, if elected, “the county bureaucracy will have to develop new ways of operating that are taxpayer-friendly.”

If Janatopoulos fails to secure a win for the DFL, Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, will be the last Democrat standing in the Iron Range.

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