Laura Kaeppeler of Kenosha, Wisconsin has been named Miss America 2012.
She won the crown at the national pageant held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. She knocked out contestants from 49 other states, plus Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The official photo of Laura Kaeppeler from the Miss America pageant:
Ms. Kaeppeler looks like a friendly Wisconsinite and a good egg. For her talent, she sang the operatic aria Il Bacio (“The Kiss”) and did it well enough to win the talent preliminaries earlier this week.
Laura Kaeppeler was born in Kenosha in 1988 — the exact date is unclear — and is in charge of the music ministries at the Northside Bible Church there. (Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, was also a devoted Christian.) Kaeppeler is a 2010 graduate of Carthage College, with a degree in music.
She is the second Miss Wisconsin to win the Miss America crown. The first was Terry Meeuwsen, Miss Wisconsin of 1973. She went on to become a regular on Pat Robertson‘s TV show The 700 Club.
As Miss America 2012, Laura Kaeppeler wins a $50,000 scholarship and a year’s worth of travel and public appearances. Congratulations to her.
See our biography (and more photos) of Laura Kaeppeler »
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