Pictured with 2016 Monroe County Fair Queen Jessica Neary and 2016 Little Miss Kaylea Bieber (left) are 2017 Monroe County Fair Queen Alexis Hartman and 2017 Little Miss Savanna Cissell. For more photos from the pageant, click here. (Kermit Constantine photo)

The 70th annual Monroe County Fair kicked off in grand fashion Sunday night with the crowning of a new fair queen and little miss in the main arena of the fairgrounds in Waterloo. Slightly cooler temperatures at the tail end of a week-long heat wave resulted in a pleasant summer evening.

Alexis Hartman was crowned fair queen and Savanna Cissell was chosen as this year’s little miss. First runner-up in the queen pageant was Noella Hosick, who also won Miss Congeniality. Second runner-up went to Whitney Buatte.

Read more on this year’s pageant in the July 26 issue of the award-winning Republic-Times newspaper.

For more on the Monroe County Fair, click here.

For photos from Sunday’s pageant, click here.