Former Hastings resident Rachel Betterley is headed to Miami with a crown, a classroom-tested sense of balance, and a place in Minnesota pageant history.
Betterley, formerly Rachel Latuff before marriage, was crowned Miss Minnesota USA 2026 and will compete for Miss USA from Aug. 20 through Aug. 28 in Miami. The pageant is expected to be shown live on a streaming service, though the platform had not yet been announced at the time of her interview.
For Betterley, the win is more than a personal milestone. She said she is the first woman in Minnesota to win both Miss Minnesota, through the Miss America organization, and Miss Minnesota USA, which sends its winner on to Miss USA and potentially Miss Universe.
“So, technically, they're two different pageant systems, and I'm actually the first woman in Minnesota to win both,” Betterley said.
Betterley first won Miss Minnesota in 2015, in the Miss America system, which she described as scholarship-focused and requiring a talent performance. Her latest title comes through Miss USA, a separate organization with a broader path. The winner of Miss USA advances to Miss Universe, giving the titleholder a larger stage and a more global platform.
The timing of Betterley’s win also reflects a major shift in the pageant world. Recent rule changes by the Miss Universe organization opened the door for married women, mothers and women outside the former age limits to compete. Betterley, a wife and mother, said the change has helped reshape ideas about who belongs on the stage.
“They're trying to be like, no, actually they are pretty amazing, we're gonna get rid of this rule, because it's time to kind of keep up with the times,” she said.
Betterley said the change created plenty of discussion inside the pageant industry, but she sees it as part of a larger evolution. She said it challenges old assumptions about women, marriage, motherhood and age.
Her own return to competition came after she finished first runner-up in Miss Minnesota USA last year. Being that close, she said, made her want to come back with full focus.
“I knew since I was so close, and I was so close to making history that I had to try it again, and I went all in,” Betterley said.
That meant a year of preparation, reflection and coaching. Betterley said the biggest difference between last year and this year was mindset. She worked to better understand what Miss USA represents, while also sharpening her communication skills and presentation.
“The biggest difference is my mindset,” she said. “I felt that I fully understood more about what Miss USA represents, and I did a deeper dive into who I am and pageantry.”
Betterley said she trained with multiple coaches, including pageant coaches and communication coaches. As a teacher and longtime competitor, she said she benefits from being pushed in different ways.
“I need to be challenged in a diverse range,” she said.
Her teaching background seems to fit naturally with the constant motion of pageant preparation. Early in the interview, when the conversation turned to juggling several tasks at once, Betterley laughed it off with the confidence of someone who knows the routine.
“I'm a teacher, so I'm constantly juggling everything,” she said.
Though she no longer lives in Hastings, Betterley said her connection to the city remains strong. She moved away in 2014, but still has family roots there and continues to return. One of those regular stops is to visit her seamstress in Hastings for wardrobe help, especially during competition season.
“I'm always randomly in Hastings, because I still have my people there, I still have family rooted in Hastings,” she said.
She said Hastings has continued to support her journey, even though she no longer technically lives in town. That support, she said, has been meaningful as she prepares for the national stage.
As for what comes next, Betterley will spend the coming weeks preparing for Miami and the Miss USA competition. She said supporters can follow the official Miss Minnesota USA Instagram account (MissMNUSA) and her personal Instagram account (RachelBetterley) for updates once broadcast details are announced.
For now, Betterley is carrying both a crown and a message, that pageantry can change, and that women do not become less capable, less ambitious or less worthy of the spotlight because they are married, mothers or older than past rules allowed.
And for a former Hastings resident who has already made Minnesota pageant history, Miami is the next stop.