UPDATE: IGH Woman Takes Part in Klondike Kate Competition

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UPDATE THURSDAY, JAN. 10: Anita Elizabeth Mack of St. Paul took home the title of Klondike Kate 2013 on Wednesday night.

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Can Inver Grove Heights make it two straight in the Klondike Kate competition?

Rochelle (Shelley) Rosvold Brown of Inver Grove Heights is one of five contestants in the running to be the 2013 Klondike Kate—the St. Paul Winter Carnival's "Ambassador of Fun." 

The competition will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Prom Center in Oakdale.

Brown is seeking to be the second consecutive Inver Grove resident to be crowded as Kate. Peggy Sweeney Junkin captured last year's Klondike Kate title.

Brown also took part in last year's contest. Click here to read about last year's event.

Here is Brown's biography from last year's contest, which was provided by the  St. Paul Winter Carnival committee:

SHELLEY BROWN—Shelley hails from Inver Grove Heights, is from a musical family and has loved music and performing all her life. She’s admired the bold, colorful Klondike Kates for years and since meeting them this year, felt as if she’d been introduced to some long-lost sisters! She’s a professional gardener and runs her own business. She plays the flute and we understand hosts one heck of a St Patrick’s Day party! Always a “good girl,” she thinks it’s time to express her naughty side!  Welcome, Shelley.

This year, five women—Brown, Amy Marie Hopkins of Baldwin, WI; Lynn Lane-Jensen of Fridley; Anita Mack of St. Paul; and Kathy Rustin-Westphal of St. Paul Park—will compete for the title. The women will perform three songs and will be judged on several factors, including their costumes, crowd appeal, musical performance, song choice and how well they portray the real-life character Klondike Kate.

Tickets for tonight's event are $20 at the door ($17 with a Winter Carnival Button). To order your tickets click here.

For special reserved pricing, "Gold Rush" information and the opportunity to give to Memorial Blood Drive, visit www.klondikekates.org

Klondike Kate History

An entertainer, Kathleen Rockwell—or "Klondike Kate"—made her way through mountains, gold fields and the Klondike rivers during the Gold Rush of 1898. She earned her nickname because she was known as the most famous dancehall girl of the North. 

She was the last entertainer hired for the St. Paul Winter Carnival in 1961. 

The St. Paul Jaycees held the first annual Klondike Kate contest in 1971. Up to 10 women compete for this title each year, but only one is chosen.