LUVERNE - Boasting the largest banquet crowd in Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener history, the city of Luverne “hit it out of the ballpark,” according to 2018 GPHO Chairman Rick Peterson Friday night as he addressed those gathered at Grand Prairie Events on the eve of the state’s pheasant hunting opener.
The eighth annual MNGPHO event was the first in which the state’s governor couldn’t attend. Gov. Mark Dayton underwent his third back surgery Friday morning at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, but sent his regrets - and his wishes for a successful hunt - to the community and its many visitors.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr read a letter written by Dayton, in which he thanked the city of Luverne for hosting this year’s opener.
“I was so looking forward to joining all of you for this weekend’s events,” Dayton said. “Bag a rooster for me this weekend. Even better, teach a young person to hunt and respect Minnesota’s great outdoors. That is one of the greatest investments any of us can make to deliver an even better Minnesota for our children and grandchildren.”
Landwehr also had the honor of announcing Austin as the 2019 host city of the ninth Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. Austin City Administrator Craig Clark, a former Worthington city administrator, held up a blaze orange T-shirt saying it would be a “Spamtastic” opener, while someone dressed in a Spam costume entered the banquet room once the announcement was made.
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Austin will be the first southeast Minnesota community to host the MNGPHO, which has previous been hosted by Montevideo (2011 and 2016), Marshall (2012 and 2017), Madelia (2013), Worthington (2014) and Mankato (2015).
The MNGPHO is an opportunity to highlight both the beauty of Minnesota communities and pheasant hunting, Landwehr added.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was on hand for Friday evening’s banquet, frequently making quips that generated laughter among the crowd.
“It is truly great to be here where people are happy,” she said, following it up with a reference to the “other place” she’d been recently (the Brett Kavanaugh hearings), and added that it’s nice to be in a place “where people go hunting for pheasants instead of press cameras.”
Klobuchar spoke of the support from Minnesotans when it comes to the outdoors, and what that means to the state and quality of life.
Hunting-related activities are a $1.3 billion sector of the state’s economy and support 400,000 jobs, Klobuchar said. She drew attention to the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System expansion in Rock County, spoke of the importance of conservation efforts and mentioned her work on the federal Farm Bill in the U.S. Senate to expand the Sodsaver program.
Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach also spoke of the economic impact of hunting in Minnesota, noting that 11 percent of the state’s population hunts, compared to a nationwide average of 6 percent. Hunting drives jobs and economic development and is a boom to smaller towns across the state, she added.
“There is such a great cultural heritage here, there’s outdoor heritage,” Fischbach said specifically of Luverne and Rock County, which is home to Blue Mounds State Park, Touch The Sky prairie and the newly dedicated Rooster Ridge Wildlife Management Area near Beaver Creek.
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John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota, encouraged those in attendance to get out and enjoy the outdoors during their visit to Rock County.
“Not everybody is going to shoot a bird,” he said. “If you can’t shoot a bird, we want you to shoot a photo of the beautiful prairie, of your dog, of a corn field. When you shoot a photo, share it and use the hashtag #onlyinMN.”
Other dignitaries offering welcoming messages Friday evening were Rock County Administrator Kyle Oldre, Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian, Rep. Joe Schomacker and Sen. Bill Weber. The Luverne High School band paraded through the banquet hall during the Honor Guard presentation preceding the banquet.
