New Miss Minnesota is first Asian-American to hold title

As far as Minnesota firsts go, this one might not have been on your radar.

The state will send an Asian-American to the Miss USA pageant next year.

Nitaya Panemalaythong, 26, of Savage was crowned Miss Minnesota last month. The office worker and Normandale College student is the first Asian-American to win the honors, according to pageant producers.

Panemalaythong, whose family is from Laos, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. In 1986, she moved to the United States as an infant. Her family lived in Minneapolis and North Carolina