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Congrats to Miss Haglund...she'll be employed for 12 months!
Posted on 01/27/2008 5:36:13 AM PST by pissant
LAS VEGAS -- Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund, a 19-year-old aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America 2008 on Saturday in a live show billed as the unveiling of the 87-year-old pageant's new, hipper look.
Haglund, of Farmington Hills, Mich., sang "Over the Rainbow" and walked a crowd-pleasing strut in a black and gold bikini to clinch the title. She beat Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash, the first runner up, and Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto, the second runner up for the $50,000 scholarship and year of travel that comes with the crown.
Haglund, who studies music at the University of Cincinnati, grew up in a pageant family. Her mother is an active volunteer, and her grandmother Iora Hunt, competed for the crown as Miss Michigan 1944. Hunt joined Haglund at a news conference.
"The only words that come to my mind is that this is a dream come true, not just for me but for my family as well," Haglund said. "I'm not just standing up here alone."
Haglund, a cheery, classic blond, wore a revealing silver sequined dress and black bikini during the evening gown and swimsuit portions of the pageant. As her platform issue, she promised to advocate for awareness of eating disorders, an illness from which she has recovered.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Miss Utah is truly beautiful. Even without cosmetics, she is stunning. Miss Michigan is pretty, and has a great body, but her face looks spackled on. Way too much makeup.
We were gonna root for Miss Tn,but when she came out and said Tn home
of Al Gore I started cheering for Miss Utah.
Hey, for once, we’re on the same page. She is STUNNING!
In my world Miss Utah would have been the hands down winner. Not only beautiful, but also in the service.
I liked Utah better too - she was more “real.”
Miss Michigan is attractive, but too “Cosmo’ed up” or something, I dunno...too “fakish.” And a bit too thin.
Vaseline on the teeth makes that smile just a little bigger and a little quicker, but it makes the lips a little shiny. Those who work putting on the show often have a different choice.
Miss Utah...my choice from weeks ago!
The best game show host, bar none: Gene Rayburn!
mi ping!
If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.
Congrats to Miss Haglund...she'll be employed for 12 months!
Kudos to Governor Granholm for getting this done. I knew it was only a matter of time until she "blew us all away".
It was so awesome when Miss Utah got eliminated because she got down and started doing push-ups and the other people in the top 15 did them with her. I really liked that she was there—in my mind she was the true winner because of the person she is.
And she’s gorgeous too.
Those of us still here are truly blown away.
Now if she blows us away again, there will be no economic activity left.
One thing for sure, we will never have a contestant from Dearbornistan. (Can’t win swimsuit competitions with burkas on.)
Well... Farmington Hills is nice, but it is the red headed step child to Bloomfield Hills, Franklin, & Birmingham... Just ask anyone in each of those towns and they’ll tell you so...
Thanks for the ping. GRRREAT news for Michigan for a change! Congratulations to Kirsten Haglund!
Neither of them will ever be guilty of anything.
I thought Miss America was in September. Guess they changed that when they (obviously) moved the pageant from Atlantic City. I’ve long since come to prefer Miss USA pageants anyway. There’s no pretense that they are anything other than a beauty pageant.
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