Halima Aden Makes Semifinals Of Miss Minnesota Pageant

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Some history was made Sunday night with the first fully-covered Muslim woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota pageant.

Halima Aden, 19 of St. Cloud, made the semifinals Sunday night but did not advance to the finals. Aden competed in her hijab, and wore a burkini during the swimsuit portion.

She tells us she wanted to use the Miss Minnesota USA stage as an opportunity to change misconceptions about Islam.

"For a really long time I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we are all born to stand out, nobody is born to blend in," Aden said. "How boring would this world be if everyone was the same?"

Meridith Gould of Minneapolis was crowned Miss Minnesota. She will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant in 2017.