Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Austin resident and former Miss Austin 2016, has been crowned Miss Minnesota International 2022.

Kaylee Kalbow will represent Minnesota and compete for Miss International 2022 at the national level in Kingsport, Tennessee, from July 25-30. She will be with contestants from other states and countries to take part in volunteering, activities. She will finish the week with the preliminaries on July 29-30.

The Miss International Pageant recognizes young women for their professional and community involvement accomplishments, volunteering, emphasizing the virtues of elegance, confidence, and intelligence. It is about empowering, encouraging, and supporting women on their journey of purpose with their platform.

“This pageant gives me a chance to amplify my voice and spread my platform, and make an impact in today’s society,” Kalbow said. “It enables women to uplift each other, enjoy sisterhood and engage in each other’s platforms. It also allows me to be a positive role model to others to make a difference in their communities, whether speaking, volunteering, or promoting the International Pageant.

Throughout her reign, she will be the voice for all people living with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) by spreading awareness, advocating, and educating others with her platform “Be your own butterfly, Let go, be free.”

Kalbow is the daughter of mother Amy Schaper of Austin and father Kerry Kalbow of New Richland. She is currently pursuing a degree in International Business at the University of Minnesota.

Kalbow has been busy her first two weeks as Miss Minnesota in Austin by giving back by stopping at local businesses handing out cookies, giving random people on the street gift cards to Culver’s, and donating to the Salvation Army and Mower County Humane Society. She also attended A Handmade Christmas Craft Show at the Hormel Historic Home and visited A Very Prairie Christmas in Blooming Prairie.