Gadient running for Iowa Dairy Princess

     Thirteen young women involved with the Iowa dairy community will compete to win the title of 64^th Iowa State Dairy Princess, Wednesday, Aug. 9 (today) at 8 p.m. at the Multi-Media Center of the Cattle Barn at the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

     The princess and her alternate are charged with helping consumers learn more about dairy products and the farm families who tend the farms and cows that provide them.

     Among the contestants is Jones County Dairy Princess Grace Gadient, 18, daughter of Bill and Melissa Gadient of Anamosa.

     The winners are chosen on the basis of their knowledge and enthusiasm about dairy, personality, and communication ability during judging, which begins Aug. 8. Both the princess and alternate will receive scholarships from the Midwest Dairy Association, which sponsors the contest and princess program on behalf of Iowa’s dairy farmers.

     The outgoing 2016-17 Iowa Dairy Princess is Katelyn Goldsmith, daughter of Jim and Kristi Goldsmith of Earlville; and the Alternate Princess is Shana Hilgerson, daughter of Scott and Suzy Hilgerson of Elkader. Their reigns will be completed at the end of the Iowa State Fair, and the new Princess and Alternate will begin their duties on Sept. 1.