Rice County Fair Queen Contestants on AM Minnesota

The four young ladies vying for the Rice County Fair Queen will be on Tuesday's AM Minnesota program at 9:30 a.m.  2017 Queen Lauren Wieber will also be joining us on the show and the Pageant Coordinator Kathy Cap.  I had the opportunity to enjoy a Dinner at Bashers last Tuesday and visit with the candidates and am happy I don't have to be a judge.

Any one of these young ladies would make a terrific queen by my judgement.  We will find out exactly what the judges look for when they make their selection.  This year's contest is the 42nd and the Rice County Fair is celebrating it's 145th year.  The Fair Queen Pageant is Tuesday night 7:00 p.m. on the Sellner Stage and will be followed by a performance by the Faribault Community Band on the opening night of this year's event.

The four ladies participating in the contest include:

Gretchen Hohrman, 17 year old daughter of Christina and the late Brad Hohrman of Northfield.  Gretchen graduated from Northfield High School last spring and will attend the University of Wisconsin, River Falls this fall majoring in elementary education.  She works at Barista Caribou Coffee in Northfield and has been in 4-H for 13 years.  In school she participated in cheerleading and FFA.

Gretchen enjoys listening to music, hanging out with friends, working, helping at a daycare and spending time outdoors.  She has grown up on a farm raising poultry and rabbits.  Gretchen has been showing animals at the Rice County Fair since she was 5 years old and is sponsored by Twin Oaks Rabbitry of Faribault.

Zoe Nassif, 17 year old daughter of Carol and Robert Nassif of Dennison.  Zoe graduated last spring from Randolph High School and plans to attend the University if Wisconsin, River Falls and major in elementary education.  She works at Cub Foods in Northfield and has been in 4-H since the first grade.  Zoe is currently President of the Happy Hounds 4-H chapter.  In school she participated in speech, was involved in theater and with church youth groups.

Zoe loves to read, crochet, swim, bike, hike and show her dog.  The Nassif family raises, trains and shows American Eskimo dogs.  She says at the fair working at the malt stand and 4-H food stand are among the activities she enjoys participating in.  Zoe is sponsored by Northfield Wi-Fi.

Hannah Singh, 16 year old daughter of Raghave Singh and Kristen Moorhead of Northfield.  Hannah will be a senior this fall at Northfield High School and participates in 4-H with an exhibit in the open class at the fair.  She loves to travel and gives horse riding lessons in the summer. Hannah volunteers for Blankets for Veterans, rings the bell for the Salvation Army and went on a mission trip to Costa Rica.

Hannah has won the VFW Voice of Democracy contest three years in a row and received a silver medal in the AATG German exam.  In school she is involved in the trap team, varsity girls choir and DECA.  Hannah has been involved in 4-H for eight years and was in the 4-H Exchange Program.  She takes piano lessons and started her own business called "Hannah's Gluten Free Treats."  She sells these at the Farmer's Market in Northfield and is sponsored by GA Ernst and Associates of Northfield.

Megan Vikla, 19 year old daughter of David and Kelly Vikla of Lonsdale.  Megan attends St. Olaf College in Northfield and is studying math and studio art.  She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 14 years and has been in 4-H for eight years.  Megan enjoys volunteering at church festivals.  In high school she was a member of the National Honor Society, student council, volleyball, cheerleading and track and field.

Megan received the Tri-Artist Award in theater while participating in three productions her senior year.  She was also in band, choir and the Tri-City United show choir.  In college she is part of the Linguistics Society and the Society for Ancient History where she will be  a Junior Consul next year.  Her hobbies include singing and dancing.  Megan is sponsored by her parents Kelly and David Vikla of Lonsdale.

The Rice County Fair Queen Pageant will be broadcast on KDHL, 920 AM and on Facebook Live beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night.

The AM Minnesota program will be available on www.kdhlradio.com by mid-afternoon Tuesday for those who can't tune in at 9:30 a.m.  Remember the best way to access radio and website content is to download the FREE KDHL app on all your mobile devices.