By Verna Slate, Williamson County Bureau
MARION, Ill. — The Miss Illinois pageant came back to the Marion Cultural and Civic Center this week, and by the end of it, a winner had a new crown. Buchheit was named Miss Illinois, the Southern Illinoisan reports.
The civic center has become the pageant's home in recent years, drawing contestants and families from across the state into downtown Marion for a stretch that fills hotels and restaurants alongside the competition itself. It's the kind of week that puts the county seat in front of a statewide audience without a mine or a courthouse scandal attached to it — a rarer thing here than you'd think.
The Southern Illinoisan's report did not include Buchheit's hometown or further details on the competition. What's confirmed is that Marion once again played host to the state's marquee pageant and crowned a new Miss Illinois on its own stage.
For a civic center built to be the region's premier venue, that's the job done right.
— Compiled from reporting by the Southern Illinoisan.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."