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“Mission accomplished,” was how Montevideo City Manager Steve Jones described the first Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Opener, held in Montevideo last weekend.
After promising to launch the first Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Montevideo after last year’s VIP hunt, Gov. Dayton made good on his word and brought with him media attention from around the state and region this year.
“I even saw the event on the sports page in San Antonio,” said Jones.
The goal of the opener was to highlight the area’s outdoors and hunting opportunities in an effort to help promote and bring in revenue for the local economy; between accommodations and supplies, hunters bring in a lot of revenue to the area.
In addition to the governor, attendants included U.S. Reps. Collin Peterson and John Kline, State Rep. Joe Hoppe, representatives from the DNR, Pheasants Forever and Hunting Works for Minnesota. Media from around the state, region and the Twin Cities was also present.
“We were definitely able to highlight our area ... and hopefully get a big boost toward our hunting tourism,” Jones said.
Due to an especially harsh winter and a wet, cold spring, the DNR reported that the state’s pheasant population had dropped significantly this year. This set the bar for the opener low around the state, which in turn resulted in hunters harvesting above expectations at the event.
While Dayton wasn’t fortunate enough to harvest a bird, a total of 52 were harvested and 350 flushed by the 85 hunters in 10 parties.
Dayton told fellow hunters Saturday morning before they began that hunting wasn’t the only reason to be gathered for the day.
“It is just a great reason to be outdoors in the fall,” he said.
That evening during a community gathering after the hunt, Dayton was in similarly high spirits, praising the Montevideo area’s outdoors and hunting. He even teased that he would be bringing the new Vikings stadium to Montevideo.
“You set a platinum standard,” Dayton told the event’s organizers.
He stressed the importance of promoting tourism through hunting in Minnesota, and preserving our land for those opportunities, before telling those gathered, “we’re the stewards of this wonderful inheritance.”
“Mission accomplished,” was how Montevideo City Manager Steve Jones described the first Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Opener, held in Montevideo last weekend.
After promising to launch the first Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Montevideo after last year’s VIP hunt, Gov. Dayton made good on his word and brought with him media attention from around the state and region this year.
“I even saw the event on the sports page in San Antonio,” said Jones.
The goal of the opener was to highlight the area’s outdoors and hunting opportunities in an effort to help promote and bring in revenue for the local economy; between accommodations and supplies, hunters bring in a lot of revenue to the area.
In addition to the governor, attendants included U.S. Reps. Collin Peterson and John Kline, State Rep. Joe Hoppe, representatives from the DNR, Pheasants Forever and Hunting Works for Minnesota. Media from around the state, region and the Twin Cities was also present.
“We were definitely able to highlight our area ... and hopefully get a big boost toward our hunting tourism,” Jones said.
Due to an especially harsh winter and a wet, cold spring, the DNR reported that the state’s pheasant population had dropped significantly this year. This set the bar for the opener low around the state, which in turn resulted in hunters harvesting above expectations at the event.
While Dayton wasn’t fortunate enough to harvest a bird, a total of 52 were harvested and 350 flushed by the 85 hunters in 10 parties.
Dayton told fellow hunters Saturday morning before they began that hunting wasn’t the only reason to be gathered for the day.
“It is just a great reason to be outdoors in the fall,” he said.
That evening during a community gathering after the hunt, Dayton was in similarly high spirits, praising the Montevideo area’s outdoors and hunting. He even teased that he would be bringing the new Vikings stadium to Montevideo.
“You set a platinum standard,” Dayton told the event’s organizers.
He stressed the importance of promoting tourism through hunting in Minnesota, and preserving our land for those opportunities, before telling those gathered, “we’re the stewards of this wonderful inheritance.”
