Davenport, Tripoli ladies earn crowns at Miss Iowa competition

When Alissa Morrison finished as the first runner-up in last year’s Miss Iowa USA competition, the Davenport resident went back to work, preparing for this year’s competition.

That hard work paid off Sunday, when Morrison was named 2016 Miss Iowa USA in the annual statewide competition. For the fifth consecutive year, the pageant was held at Newton High School’s Center for Performance.

Morrison has been entering the Miss Iowa competition in each of the five years the pageant has been held in Newton. She was also one of the four runners-up in 2014.

“This has been the best investment in myself, to keep doing these pageants,” Morrison said. “It’s a system that has allowed me to open doors for myself.”

Hannah Bockhaus of Tripoli was named Miss Iowa Teen USA at the competition. She and Morrison receive a long list of scholarships and health and beauty products and services as state winners, and both will compete in national Miss USA pageants next year.

Like Morrison, Bockhaus was also a runner-up last year, and she said a big key for her this year was to be natural.

“I had to compete as myself,” Bockhaus said.

The two-hour finals capped a weekend that also included a Saturday-night preliminary competition. There was an interview portion, which counts for one-third of a contestant’s preliminary-round score, along with an evening-gown competition.

Sunday afternoon’s finals pared the Miss Iowa USA competition from 21 women to 10 finalists, and the teens went from 25 to 15. From there, swimsuit and evening-gown competitions helped the six judges pick five finalists in each of the two age groups.

Linda Bacon, executive director of the Newton Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, was called on stage to accept the “Sponsor of the Year” award on behalf of the award winner, Hy-Vee of Newton. The Newton Daily News and other area businesses also sponsored the event.

Newton Mayor Mike Hansen brought his 7-year-old granddaughter, Tionna Hummel, on stage with him as he encouraged the crowd of about 500 or 600 to “Get to Know Newton.”

Morrison and Bockhaus will make a long list of public appearances over the next year, just as their predecessors, 2015 Miss Iowa Taylor Even and 2015 Miss Teen Iowa Aryn Book, had done.

Morrison said the moment of finding out she’d won was one that is tough to describe.

“It was euphoric beyond belief,” she said.

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