Twin Cities Gateway Announces Photo Contest Winners

Duane Wraalstad, Wins Grand Prize in the First Annual Twin Cities Gateway Photo Contest

BLAINE, Minn., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Twin Cities Gateway (TCG), the regional visitor's bureau representing nine communities in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area announces the winners of its first annual photo contest.

According to Steve Markuson, TCG Director, "The photo contest was a great success as 82 photographers submitted more than 350 entries.  Some of the photos submitted are truly stunning and it was a challenge for the judges to select the winners.  The images are reflective of the many diverse opportunities for visitors and metro area residents alike to experience when traveling into and throughout the Twin Cities Gateway destination area."

The Grand Prize photo was submitted by Duane Wraalstad and features a pair of trumpeter swans against a fall color backdrop near the Mississippi River and the Coon Rapids Dam, one of the favorite Coon Rapids attractions.   The First Place winner in the City & Corporate Sights category was a night photograph of the Lyric Main Stage Theatre in Anoka, MN and was submitted by Sue Dilcher.  Ken Legus won the Family Fun and Things to Do category for his entry featuring vintage aircraft at the air show at the Anoka County / Blaine, MN airport.  First Place in the Sporting Events & Recreation category was submitted by MinneFota Moments for a bicyclist competing in the Du the Dam Duathalon competition, a premier Twin Cities sports event, in Coon Rapids, MN.  Cathy Schmidt entered the winner for the Scenic Beauty & Four Seasons category for her submission of a couple overlooking a lake at sunset in the Lino Lakes, MN area.  The grand prize winner will receive an Apple iPad and two nights lodging in one of the many convenient Twin Cities Gateway hotels in the Minneapolis – St. Paul region.  The first place winners in each of the other categories will receive a $100 Visa gift card.

Al Stauffacher, TCG President, noted,  "The photos submitted will help us to showcase the attributes that make the Twin Cities Gateway such a great place to visit, live, work, and play."  The photo contest winners and honorable mention submissions may be viewed at www.tcgateway.com or on Twin Cities Gateway's Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr social network sites.

Twin Cities Gateway a non-profit corporation, funded by the 3% local option lodging tax by visitors' staying in lodging properties located within the nine communities of Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Ham Lake, Lino Lakes, Mounds View, New Brighton, and Shoreview., MN. The nine member cities offer easy access to Twin Cities attractions as well as small town charm. For more information about Twin Cities Gateway or for information about things to do in Twin Cities Gateway, visit http://www.tcgateway.com/.

SOURCE Twin Cities Gateway