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

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

 in the Miss USA

Miss USA

The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...

 pageant. This state pageant is currently directed by Future Productions.

South Dakota is one of the least successful states, having only placed twice and never having advanced past the Semi-finals. One notable Miss South Dakota USA was Vanessa Shortbull (2000), one of the first Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 to compete at Miss USA. Shortbull was also Miss South Dakota

Miss South Dakota

The Miss South Dakota competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Dakota in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...

 2002.

Winners

Year	Name	Hometown	Age1	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2011 Miss USA 2011 Miss USA 2011, the 60th anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned her successor, Alyssa Campanella of California, at the end...	Chandra Burnham	Highmore Highmore, South Dakota Highmore is a city in Hyde County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 795 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hyde County.-Geography:Highmore is located at ....	23
2010 Miss USA 2010 Miss USA 2010, the 59th edition of the Miss USA pageant, was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2010. Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina, crowned her successor, Rima Fakih of Michigan as Miss USA 2010 at the...	Emily Miller	Irene Irene, South Dakota Irene is a city in Clay, Turner, and Yankton counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 420 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Irene is located at ....	21
2009 Miss USA 2009 Miss USA 2009, the 58th Miss USA pageant was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009...	Jessica Rowell	Sioux Falls Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...	22
2008 Miss USA 2008 Miss USA 2008, the 57th Miss USA beauty pageant, was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas USA, was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder, Rachel Smith of Tennessee...	Charlie Buhler Charlie Buhler Charlie Buhler is a beauty queen from Mitchell, South Dakota who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2008.Buhler won the Miss South Dakota USA 2008 title in late 2007, becoming the first African-American woman to win the pageant. She will represent South Dakota at the Miss USA 2008 pageant, to be...	Mitchell Mitchell, South Dakota -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,558 people, 6,121 households, and 3,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,475.7 people per square mile . There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 664.4 per square mile...	19
2007 Miss USA 2007 Miss USA 2007, the 56th Miss USA pageant, was held in Hollywood, California, on March 23, 2007, after two weeks of events and preliminary competition. The winner of the pageant was Rachel Smith, of Tennessee....	Suzie Heffernan Suzie Heffernan Suzie K. Heffernan is a beauty queen from Corcoran, Minnesota who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007.Heffernan won the Miss South Dakota USA 2007 title in a state pageant held in Watertown, South Dakota on November 12, 2006...	Brookings Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher...	20
2006 Miss USA 2006 Miss USA 2006, the 55th Miss USA pageant, was held at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on April 21, 2006. Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title, which was won by Tara Conner of Kentucky...	Alexis LeVan Alexis LeVan Alexis LeVan is a beauty queen from Sioux Falls, South Dakota who has competed in the Miss USA pageant.LeVan won the Miss South Dakota USA 2006 title in a state pageant held in Watertown, South Dakota in late 2005...	Sioux Falls Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...	19			Contestant at National Sweetheart National Sweetheart Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1952 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart....  2008
2005 Miss USA 2005 Miss USA 2005, the 54th Miss USA pageant, was held in Baltimore, Maryland in April 11, 2005. It was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina.Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title of Miss USA in the Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, 2005...	Jessica Fjerstad Jessica Fjerstad Jessica Lea Fjerstad is a beauty queen from Madison, South Dakota who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants.Fjerstad won the Miss South Dakota Teen USA 2002 title in 2001, after placing first runner-up the year previously. She represented South Dakota in the Miss Teen USA 2002...	Madison Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,474 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University.-Geography:Madison is located at ....	20
2004 Miss USA 2004 The Miss USA 2004 pageant was held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on April 12, 2004. The winner of the beauty pageant was Shandi Finnessey, who became the first winner from the state of Missouri...	Andrea Parliament	Brandon Brandon, South Dakota There were 1,909 households out of which 53.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone...	20
2003 Miss USA 2003 The Miss USA 2003 pageant was held in San Antonio, Texas March 24, 2003, the first time it had been held in this state since 1996 when the pageant was held in South Padre Island...	Jessica Lawrence	Brookings	25			Contestant at National Sweetheart National Sweetheart Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1952 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart....  2001
2002 Miss USA 2002 The Miss USA 2002 pageant was held in Gary, Indiana on March 2, 2002. The event was won by Shauntay Hinton of the District of Columbia, who was crowned by outgoing queen Kandace Krueger of Texas....	Sitania Syrovatka	Sioux Falls
2001 Miss USA 2001 Miss USA 2001, the 50th edition of the Miss USA pageant was held at the Genesis Convention Center, Gary, Indiana on March 2, 2001. The event was won by Kandace Krueger of Texas, who was crowned by outgoing queen Lynnette Cole of Tennessee....	Beth Lovro	Sioux Falls
2000 Miss USA 2000 Miss USA 2000, the forty-ninth Miss USA pageant, was held in Branson, Missouri at The Grand Palace on February 4, 2000.At the conclusion of the final competition, Lynnette Cole of Tennessee was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kimberly Pressler of New York....	Vanessa Shortbull	Rapid City Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...				Future Miss South Dakota Miss South Dakota The Miss South Dakota competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Dakota in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...  2002
1999 Miss USA 1999 Miss USA 1999, the forty-eighth Miss USA pageant, was held at the Grande Palace Theatre in Branson, Missouri on February 4, 1999.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kimberly Pressler of New York, was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts...	Shawna Gross	Huron Huron, South Dakota Huron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
1998 Miss USA 1998 Miss USA 1998, the 47th Miss USA pageant, was held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March, 1998. The preliminary competition was held on 6 March 1998 and the final competition on 10 March 1998...	Lori O'Brien	Rapid City
1997 Miss USA 1997 Miss USA 1997, the forty-sixth Miss USA pageant, was held at Shreveport, Louisiana in January and February, 1997. Delegates arrived in the city on January 19, the preliminary competition was held on February 2, 1997 and the final competition on February 5, 1997...	Jamie Swenson	Sioux Falls	25
1996 Miss USA 1996 Miss USA 1996, the forty-fifth Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 2, 1996....	Caresa Winters	Huron	20
1995 Miss USA 1995 Miss USA 1995, the forty-fourth Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 10, 1995....	Jenny Snobeck	Sioux Falls
1994 Miss USA 1994 Miss USA 1994, the 43rd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the South Padre Island Convention Centre on South Padre Island, Texas on 11 February 1994...	Tabetha Mauck	Mobridge Mobridge, South Dakota Mobridge is a city in Walworth County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,465 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Mobridge is located at ....
1993 Miss USA 1993 Miss USA 1993, the 42nd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 19 February 1993.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kenya Moore of Michigan was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shannon Marketic of California...	Kara Rovere	Sturgis Sturgis, South Dakota Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,627 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Meade County. Sturgis is famous for being the location of one of the largest annual motorcycle events in the world, which is held annually on the first full week...
1992 Miss USA 1992 Miss USA 1992, the 41st Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 7 February 1992.At the conclusion of the final competition, Shannon Marketic of California was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kelli McCarty of Kansas...	Shawn Frerichs	Sioux Falls
1991 Miss USA 1991 Miss USA 1991, the 40th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 22 February 1991.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kelli McCarty of Kansas was crowned by outgoing titleholder Carole Gist of Michigan...	Jillayne Fossum	Canton Canton, South Dakota Canton is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The city was named by Norwegian settler and former legislator James M. Wahl...
1990 Miss USA 1990 Miss USA 1990, the 39th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on March 2, 1990.At the conclusion of the final competition, Carole Gist of Michigan was crowned by outgoing titleholder Gretchen Polhemus of Texas...	Valerie Sejnoha	Sioux Falls
1989	Nanette Enders	Watertown Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 21,482 at the 2010 census. It is also the principal city of the Watertown Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Codington and Hamlin counties...
1988	Sandi Lynn Fix	Sioux Falls
1987	Jana Van Woudenberg	Hudson Hudson, South Dakota Hudson is a town in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 296 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hudson is located at , along the Big Sioux River....
1986	Lori Scumacher	Sioux Falls
1985	Stacey Arnold	Rapid City
1984	Donna Smith	Box Elder Box Elder, South Dakota Box Elder is a city in Meade and Pennington counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 7,800 at the 2010 census. Ellsworth Air Force Base lies on the north side of the city.-Geography:Box Elder is located at ....
1983	Kelly Rosenbaum	Elk Point Elk Point, South Dakota Elk Point is a city in Union County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 as of the 2010 census...
1982	Meaghan North	Sioux Falls
1981	Joan Abbott	Irene Irene, South Dakota Irene is a city in Clay, Turner, and Yankton counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 420 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Irene is located at ....
1980	Jane Schmidt	Flandreau Flandreau, South Dakota Flandreau is a city in Moody County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,341 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Moody County...
1979	Noele de Saint Gall	Garretson Garretson, South Dakota Garretson is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Garretson is located at ....
1978	Nadene Oppold	Sioux Falls
1977	Ginger Thomson	Sioux Falls
1976	Dorothy Westphal	Sioux Falls			Miss Congeniality (tie)
1975	Lanette Rabenberg	Sioux Falls
1974	Debra Ann Brickley	Sioux Falls		Semi-finalist
1973	Rebecca Bunkers	Brookings
1972	Kathleen Bakke	DeSmet
1971	Sonia Hart	Sioux Falls
1970	Cynthia Finley	Sturgis
1969	Mary Bergen	Sioux Falls
1968	Byrean Blacksmith	Sioux Falls
1967	Patricia Marshall
1962-1966	Did Not Compete
1961	Sharon Hoffman
1960	Patricia Klith
1959	Jeannine Stratton
1958	Helen Youngquist			Semi-finalist
1957	Gay Marshall
1956	Did Not Compete
1955	Phyllis Choquette
1954	Barbara Ann Brown
1953	Kathleen Herman
1952	Marlene M. Rieb			withdrew

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

External links

• Official Website.