In a major disappointment, the judges at this weekend’s Miss South Dakota contest in Brookings did not crown the gal from Timber Lake who monologued on a unicycle for the talent competition.
In another disappointment, the contest admitted two competitors who claim hometowns not in South Dakota: one from Fargo, North Dakota, and another from Madison, Wisconsin.
How can this be? South Dakota won’t let itinerant RVers vote in its elections, but it will let out-of-staters compete with and potentially deny a real live South Dakota women the chance to bear the glittering tiara that represents all that is good and holy in South Dakota womanhood?
Miss America rules say that a “delegate” must reside in the state for at least 120 consecutive days before the competition. But shouldn’t a delegate then brand herself as being from that in-state locus of residency? “And now, from Fargo, North Dakota, Miss South Dakota!” just doesn’t sound right.
But the whole pageant circuit puts “residency” in quote marks, as nearly half of the 27 contestants are not from the places whose crown they bear:
- Miss Fall River Balloon Festival is from Onida, in Sully County.
- Miss Central States Fair (Rapid City) is from Howard.
- Miss Brown County Fair is from Rapid City.
- Miss Rolling Plains is from hilly Rapid City.
- Miss Badlands is from Britton.
- Miss Missouri River is from Wisconsin.
- Miss Hub City is from Hartford.
- Miss Vermillion is from Sioux Falls.
- Miss Sioux Falls is from Hartford.
- Miss Brookings is from Fargo.
- Miss McCrory Gardens is from Vermillion.
- Miss Huron is from Mitchell.
- Miss West River is from Mitchell.
It’s just a beauty pageant scholarship competition, but maybe Miss South Dakota should tighten its residency rules. Maybe towns should be represented by women who are from those towns… or who at least could get to those town from their homes on a unicycle.