First openly gay Miss Nevada crowned – KOLO

July 2, 2022 News Editor

STATELINE, Nev. (KOLO ) – The first openly gay Miss Nevada was crowned Friday, July 1, 2022 at Bally’s Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada.

Her name is Heather Renner and she calls Reno home.

Shortly after her win KOLO 8 Evening Anchor Noah Bond asked her to share a message with other young people who identify as gay.

“It gets better. I know that is so easy to say, but if you do hold on you will find the person you were meant to love and you will find love for yourself along the way. Just wait. It’s not always this tough,” Renner replied.

She says she will use the roughly $30,000 in scholarship money she earned with her Miss Nevada title to pay for her education at UNLV where she is majoring in theater.

Renner’s family has been a part of the Miss Nevada scholarship organization for over 50 years. She says her grandmother was once the Executive Director of the Organization.

She will now prepare for the Miss America pageant in Connecticut this coming December.

Megan Dwyer from Elko was crowned Miss Nevada Outstanding Teen. This competition is reserved for contestants between the ages of 13 and 17-years-old.

“To win the crown this year was so exciting for me. It feels like a dream. I’ve been involved in this organization since I was eight-years-old. To finally have my dream come true is so amazing,” she said.

She says she would like to use the scholarship money she won to earn a major in biology with a minor in bioethics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

She encourages other young Nevada’s to not be afraid to pursue their dreams and to never give up if a goal is worth obtaining.