McKenna Henrich (KLEM photo)
A young woman from northwest Iowa was crowned the new Iowa State Fair Queen over the weekend.
Eighteen-year-old Plymouth County Fair Queen McKenna Henrich, from Akron, was presented the title during a ceremony Saturday night at the fairgrounds in Des Moines.
Henrich says she’s thrilled by the honor and is ready to get started. “Now that I’m in this position, I’m not just going to stand here and do nothing. I want to make a difference. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself,” Henrich says. “I want to go to as many things as I can, anything from a dinner with a family to a big public event, I want to be there and I want to be present.”
Henrich says she received some valuable advice from the 2009 Iowa State Fair Queen, Caine Westergard, who is also from Henrich’s hometown of Akron. “She gave me a lot of insight and things that I should pay attention to and different things I should be mindful of,” Henrich says. “Coming into this week, I had some things I could look out for. Caine is a great role model for me because it’s awesome that she got to win and now I get to represent my county and my town and, not only that, but my parents and the people that have gotten me here today.”
Prior to her being named as the new queen, Henrich was approached by the granddaughter of Brenda Brown of Taylor County, who is about seven years old. Henrich took off her county queen tiara and placed it on the girl’s head to pose for pictures. Minutes later, Henrich was named the Iowa State Fair Queen.
(By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars)