Miss Minnesota Wins Talent Portion of Miss America Contest

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Contestants from Minnesota and Louisiana have won preliminary competitions during the second night of the Miss America contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow won the talent competition with a classical piano recital (Rhapsody In Blue).

Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti won the swimsuit competition Thursday.

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

The third night of preliminaries will be held Friday. The next Miss America will be crowned in Sunday night's nationally televised finale.

Mothers whose sons were killed while serving in the military will be honored this weekend as part of the Miss America competition.

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 in Atlantic City. Three others also will be honored in absentia.

The moms will 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.

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.

She says she's gratified to know their families' sacrifices haven't been forgotten.