    Miss Rolling Prairies Joelle Simpson of Rapid City is the new Miss South Dakota.
The 20-year old was crowned Saturday night at the 77th Miss South Dakota scholarship pageant in Brookings. There were 20 contestants this year.
Simpson was the favorite going into the finals after topping the Delta group in both preliminary rounds. She won Talent on Thursday with a harp solo, then claimed the Health and Fitness competition on Friday.
A student at the University of Minnesota in Medical Laboratory Science, Simpson’s Community Service Initiative is Nurturing Nature.
1st Runner Up was Miss Hub City, 22-year old Katherine Milbrandt, with 25-year old Miss State Fair Emily Deinken of Sioux Falls 2nd runner-up, and 20-year old Miss Clay County Jensine Matson the 3rd runner.
      19-year old Miss Hot Springs Sydney Morgan of Hot Springs, who was the fitness winner for the Sigma group on Thursday, was the 4th runner-up
      The semifinalists who did not make the cut to the final 5 were  Miss Central States Fair Kamella Kopp, Miss Fall River Balloon Festival Olivia Granaas, Miss Prairie Pasque Jamee Kattner, Miss USD Rio Snyder, and Miss Huron Julia Stanek.