Minnesota, Louisiana win 2nd night Miss America prelims

Contestants from Louisiana and Minnesota won preliminary competitions on the second night of the Miss America competition in Atlantic City on Thursday.

The 51 contestants of the Miss America 2018 competition take the stage at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., for the first night of preliminary competition, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Erin Grugan/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti won the swimsuit competition while Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow won the talent competition with a classical piano recital.

They join winners from the first night of preliminary competition Wednesday night, Miss Texas and Miss Utah.

Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow, left, and Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti, right, meet reporters after winning preliminary competitions Thursday night Sept. 7, 2017 in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, N.J. Drevlow won for playing a rendition of "Rhapsody In Blue" on the piano, and Bonacquisti won the swimsuit competition. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

The third night of preliminaries will be held Friday and the next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in a nationally televised finale.

This weekend, mothers whose sons were killed while serving in the military will be honored as part of the competition.

Miss America contestants take the stage for the second night of preliminary competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 7, 2017. The next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

The Miss America Organization, the Got Your Back Network, Caesars Entertainment and others will host nine Gold Star mothers as honorary Miss Americas on Sunday. Three others also will be honored but can't make it to the ceremony.

They'll be put up and pampered at casinos, will meet with Pentagon officials and will be honored onstage at Boardwalk Hall before the nationally televised finale begins.

Miss America 2018 contestants walk the stage during the fitness competition during the second night of preliminaries at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, N.J. Thursday, Sept, 7, 2017. (Edward Lea/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

Among them will be Eileen Daly, of Brick, New Jersey, whose son Sgt. Ronald Kubik was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 and who posthumously was awarded the Silver Star.

Miss District of Columbia 2017, Briana Kinsey, walks the stage in the fitness competition during second night of Miss America 2018 preliminaries at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, N.J. Thursday Sept. 7, 2017 . (Edward Lea/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

"I am so grateful to this group for honoring my son and giving me the opportunity to go to Atlantic City," Daly told The Associated Press. "It comforts me so much to know that our fallen heroes are not forgotten for the sacrifice our sons and daughters made to give their lives for this country."

The 51 contestants of the Miss America 2018 competition take the stage at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, for the first night of preliminary competition, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Erin Grugan/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

Her son was 21 when he died, an Army Ranger leading an assault team in Logar Province, Afghanistan. His mother said Kubik saved the lives of 10 fellow soldiers and 19 civilians on the day he was killed.

The mothers will stay at Caesars casino in Atlantic City. After breakfast Sunday, they will be given spa time, will have their hair and makeup done, will meet with military officials traveling from the Pentagon for the ceremony and will be brought onstage by former Miss Americas during the preshow activities, which are not televised.

Miss America 2018 contestants walk the stage during parade of states during the second night of preliminaries at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Thursday, Sept, 7, 2017. (Edward Lea/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

They will be given commemorative bracelets, will talk about their sons and will be named honorary Miss Americas for life.

"There's a lot of healing that takes place," said Kathleen Gagg, executive director of Got Your Back, which supports Gold Star families. "These women belong to a sorority that no one ever wants to be a part of."

Miss Oklahoma 2017 Triana Browne walks the stage in the fitness portion of the second night of the Miss America 2018 preliminaries at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Thursday Sept. 7, 2017 . (Edward Lea/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

Dubbed "Project Gratitude," the event has honored about 130 women in the nine years it has been operating.

The women to be honored include four from Florida: Michele Marie Carey, of Oldster; Catherine Grace del Castillo, of Tampa; Margaret Eggers, of Cape Coral; and Jill Stephenson, of St. Petersburg. The others are Frances Ann Lee, of Fort Wright, Kentucky; Laura Gonzalez, of Indianapolis; Xiomara Edith Mena, of Falls Church, Virginia; Paula Rena Davis, of Frederick, Maryland; and three other New Jersey residents in addition to Daly: Amy Moore, of Robbinsville; Lucinda Malmo, of Red Bank, and Jacqueline Dixon, of Lindenwold.

Miss America 2018 contestants walk the stage during parade of states during the second night of preliminaries at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Thursday, Sept, 7, 2017. (Edward Lea/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.

Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, 49, of Woodbury, was arrested early Monday at the home in the northwestern Minnesota city of Detroit Lakes. The arresting officer wrote in the complaint that he heard Mitchell tell her stepmother "something to the effect of, ’I was just trying to get a couple of my dad's things because you wouldn't talk to me anymore.'"

The complaint charges Mitchell with one count of first-degree burglary, a felony. Becker County Judge Gretchen Thilmony allowed Mitchell to go free on the condition that she not contact her stepmother.

Although Senate Republicans called on Mitchell to resign, she's expected to return to her duties. Her trouble comes at an awkward time for Senate Democrats, who hold just a one-seat majority with just under four weeks left in the legislative session.

Mitchell's attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Sr., said in an interview that the dispute arose out of a “fractured relationship” between the senator and her stepmother that has been aggravated by age-related issues.

“It's not exactly the wicked stepmother from Cinderella,” Ringstrom said.

Ringstrom said he’s sure there will be “internal discussions” among Senate Democrats regarding her future but that she’s entitled to a presumption of innocence. He said he told her to suppress her instincts “as a media person, a weather person and politician,” and that she agreed “to hold her tongue and say nothing.”

But in a post later on Facebook, Mitchell denied stealing. She did not, however, explain why she entered the home without permission in the middle of the night.

“Like so many families, mine is dealing with the pain of watching a loved one decline due to Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia. ... This has been a true tragedy for our family and my hope is it can return to being a private matter,” Mitchell wrote.

The senator wore an orange jumpsuit and looked tense but said little during her brief court appearance. She did not enter a plea.

Mitchell’s father, Rod Mitchell, died in March 2023 at the age of 72, according to his obituary. He had been married to Mitchell’s stepmother for 40 years, it said.

“I know I did something bad,” the criminal complaint quoted Mitchell as saying.

Mitchell was dressed all in black and wearing a black hat when she was arrested, the complaint said. The officer said he discovered a flashlight near her that was covered with a black sock, apparently modified to control the amount of light coming from it.

Mitchell told the officer she was after pictures, a flannel shirt, ashes and other items, but that her stepmother had cut off all contact with her, according to the complaint.

The lawmaker acknowledged entering through a basement window that had been propped open with a black backpack, the complaint said. Officers found her Senate ID inside it. She claimed her stepmother had given her a laptop found in her backpack “way back when,” but the stepmother disputed that. The senator, who has a law degree, also indicated that she got caught soon after entering.

“Clearly I'm not good at this,” it quoted her as saying.

The stepmother said in an interview that she's afraid of her stepdaughter. She also said that although most of her husband's ashes were buried, she sent Mitchell a miniature container with some of them. Ringstrom, however, said that account is “not totally accurate.”

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, of St. Paul, called the allegations “upsetting” but indicated that Mitchell will be allowed to return to her duties.

“We believe in due process, and Senator Mitchell has the right to a full defense of her case in court,” Murphy said in a statement.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, said in a statement that she should step down. The complaint describes allegations of disturbing conduct unbecoming of a legislator, including extensive preparations to burglarize a relative’s home, he said.

Mitchell was a meteorologist with the U.S. military, KSTP-TV, Minnesota Public Radio and The Weather Channel before she was elected in 2022 from a suburban St. Paul district.

Mitchell’s next court appearance is set for June 10.

This story was updated to correct that the defendant’s father died in March 2023, not last month.

Democratic State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, right, of Woodbury, speaks with Sen. Robert D. Farnsworth, a Republican from Hibbing, on the floor of the Minnesota Senate on April 2, 2024, at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)