March 18, 2024

Newton to host Miss USA pageant for fifth straight year

Last year’s event drew about 1,000 visitors

One of the state’s most prestigious beauty pageants will take place in the Newton High School Center for Performance for the fifth consecutive year.

The 2016 Miss Iowa USA and Miss Iowa Teen USA pageants are slated to be held at NHS this weekend. Preliminaries are at 8 p.m. Saturday and the finale begins at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Linda Bacon, the executive director of Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the event is one of the biggest of the year in terms of bringing people from all corners of the state into Newton.

“We love this event because everyone is excited to be there,” Bacon said. “We really encourage Jasper County people to go and watch, and take advantage of having something like this in Newton.”

The Miss Iowa USA and Miss Iowa Teen USA pageants are the official state preliminary pageants to the national pageants. The young women crowned last year in Newton — Miss Iowa USA, Taylor Even, of Jessup, and Miss Teen Iowa USA, Aryn Book, of Adel — advanced to compete in their respective national-level competitions this summer, although neither one made the top 15.

The state competitions held in Newton are the signature event for Future Productions, which is the licensed producer.

“We are thrilled to be bringing back such a high-profile and internationally recognized event back to the community of Newton,” pageant executive co-director Denise Wallace said. “The community of Newton has been extremely welcoming of an event that recognizes young women, and we invite all residents to join us for this exciting event.”

Bacon said hotels, restaurants and gas stations are among the beneficiaries of the event; about 1,000 visitors came to Newton for the October 2014 competitions. She said Newton’s Mariah Doland, who competed last year, has been the only Newton-area contestant in the five years Newton has hosted the competition.

“That means everyone who competes is from outside the area, so this is a great chance for Newton to showcase itself,” Bacon said. “And some might have large amounts of family and friends show up to cheer them on.”

The pageant consists of three equally scored areas of competition: evening gown, swimwear and interview. Eligible contestants must be between the ages of 14 and 26 and be unmarried residents of Iowa who have never given birth in order to compete in the pageant.

The new titleholders will each receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships, prizes and awards. They will serve as role models for young women in Iowa by forging alliances with charitable organizations and civic groups and making many public appearances during their one-year reigns.

Tickets are available to the public for purchase for both the preliminary show and finale show through www.missiowausa.com or www.missiowateenusa.com. The cost is $29 for general admission and $44 for the "Golden Section," the front 200 of the Center for Performance's 800 seats. There is a $2 service charge per ticket.

Bacon estimated last year’s pageant generated $350,000 for the local economy.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com