Supposed to be in Leech Lake area this year. Do you think our governor will show up for the Governors Opener or will he skip town early for “urgent business” again like he did last year in the Ottertail atea?
Dennis Anderson reported a couple of weeks ago that sportsman weren’t worthy of his attendance. He will not be attending.
Didn’t know that.
Might be afraid of flying rocks from the Land of Rocks and Cows.
Didn’t know that.
Might be afraid of flying rocks from the Land of Rocks and Cows.
Not enough votes to buy with programs up that way. He needs to stay in the metro areas where those unemployment bucks earn the most votes.
Just saw this the other day by Clearwater.
Walz.jpg
The word on the street is that the Cass Lake Casino hotel is shut down this weekend do to the govenor staying there. I think it is just the hotel part. Im guessing this is staying under the radar because of the otter tail incident. Also wondering if he will be discussing sports gambling with the tribes.
We will be about two miles from the that hope it is not to much of a circus up there.
I was kind of hoping i would at least get to moon him from my boat
Prior to the Walz admin the Governor’s opener has been a public event since 1948. 2020 was cancelled due to Covid, and this year to Cowardice and dislike of Walz. They couldn’t find a community that wanted to host him and the event, so in a bit of transparency he’s going to where his bread is buttered. Fishing with Tom Neustrom and dining in a private ceremony with the tribe, probably on netted walleye. Warden Walz, among his many flaws, is no friend of the outdoorspeople of MN. Dennis Anderson wrote an appropriate article about it.
“In June 1973, Minnesota Gov. Wendy Anderson was on Basswood Lake on the Ontario border, fishing with Gerry Bibeau of Ely, who in addition to being an excellent angler was a first-rate barber.
Fishing was good that day. The governor boated five walleyes and a similar number of northern pike. All the while, nearby, a Time magazine photographer clicked away as Bibeau and Anderson enjoyed themselves in the same way a million and more Minnesotans enjoy themselves every year.
Two months later, a photo of Anderson holding a northern pike graced Time’s cover, together with a headline proclaiming, “The Good Life in Minnesota.”
The flattering story inside was not about fishing, of course, but about how, at the time, Minnesota successfully educated its kids, paved its roads and paid its bills while providing a pathway to success for many of its residents.
TIME MAGAZINE
August 13, 1973, TIME magazine cover shows then Minnesota Gov. Wendell Anderson at a time — apparently different from today — when the state’s governor recognized the importance of recognizing and validating Minnesotans’ most popular pastime.
Any number of photos could have been used on the magazine’s cover to trumpet the Minnesota story. The Minneapolis skyline. The Mississippi River as it bisects Minnesota north to south. The Guthrie Theater. Or perhaps one of the state’s Fortune 500 companies, say 3M or General Mills.
Instead, the photo was of the beaming Minnesota governor wearing a folksy plaid shirt hoisting a northern pike.
The iconic image literally screamed “Minnesota,” and the good life the state offered.
Any chance a similar photo of the current governor, Tim Walz, with a similar headline will grace any magazine cover anytime soon?
Not likely.
Not only because many Minnesotans believe that whatever Time magazine was celebrating about Minnesota 50-odd years ago has lost some of its sheen. But because Walz on May 14 will be the first Minnesota governor in more than a half-century to skip the formal celebration of what Anderson and Bibeau celebrated so joyously that day on Basswood: rocking in a boat, fishing rods in hand, passing the good time — fishing.
Walz, of course, would disagree.
True, he would say, he won’t be the star this year of the state’s traditional Governor’s Fishing Opener. But on the state’s big day, he’ll be fishing somewhere in Minnesota — and his people will let us know if he catches anything.
And the traditional Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener, whose roots date to 1948?
Well, that’s going by the wayside, as the Star Tribune’s Tony Kennedy has reported, to be replaced by a handful of bogus non-events — moms can fish for free the weekend before the opener! — that in any other year would be considered April Fool’s jokes, and bad ones at that.
By tradition, the Governor’s Fishing Opener moves around the state, community to community, showcasing what each has to offer. Public spiritedness is the common denominator, as volunteer guides and their boats — some 70 in all — are rounded up, and funds are raised to pay for banquets, parties and even bait.
These events are a lot of work and the economic payback is questionable. But Minnesotans are proud of the places they live, and anyway they’re hard-wired for potlucks. So they put their shoulders to the wheel and the annual celebrations unfold.
Yet the importance of the Governor’s Fishing Opener — and similar gatherings that celebrate the pheasant and deer openers, which Walz also miniaturized last year — are linked neither to their planning nor successful execution, but to their metaphorical representation of what many Minnesotans value.
Fishing is part of this, yes. But more important is the role Governor’s Openers play in the continuation of state traditions and rituals, both of which are vital to the health of individuals, communities and entire cultures.
As life’s touchstones, traditions and rituals build trust among people by synching their behaviors in shared experiences, researchers say. Among Minnesotans, few days in Minnesota match the Fishing Opener for shared experiences, and, arguably, fewer still bring more joy to more people. This includes those living in Minnesota’s lakeside communities who for generations have hosted the state’s chief executives on the Governor’s Fishing Opener.
“When people act as one,” sociologists say, “they feel as one, and build more trust in one another.”
Not only is the Fishing Opener a heartfelt holiday in Minnesota because it helps shape and organize people’s lives, but because it marks the end of winter and beginning of summer.
This rotation of seasons, from cold weather to warm, ice-covered lakes to open water, is uniquely joyful in Minnesota because it ties residents closely to nature.
Just as anglers in May land on the state’s lakes and rivers, so do returning ducks, geese and loons. Similarly, beneath the water’s surface, walleyes and other fish swim into shallow water to spawn.
Amid these constant seasonal changes, perhaps particularly in the northern latitudes, rituals and traditions are all the more important, and are lifelines for many people for whom consistency is otherwise elusive.
In defense of his Fishing Opener abandonment, Walz raises the COVID flag. But last August, as the delta variant was gathering steam in Minnesota, Walz was maskless at Farm Fest in southern Minnesota, delivering the keynote address. Later in August, he was at the State Fair.
Gov. Tim Walz found time to be the keynote speaker at Farm Fest last year.
But in between, he couldn’t manage to attend any one of the six days of Game Fair, the annual gathering in Anoka of hunters and anglers that last year drew record crowds.
The governor is also said to have been bruised by the cold shoulder given him at times at last year’s Governor’s Fishing Opener. If so, he should look to his predecessor, Mark Dayton, as a role model. Dayton not only endured extreme back and hip pain at times while participating in governor’s openers, he was greeted with “Dayton go home” signs at his last pheasant opener wingding for his support of streamside buffers.
Through it all, Dayton smiled.
The last two years have perhaps been more disquieting to Minnesotans than to any previous generations in the state’s history.
COVID. Social unrest. Job losses. The deaths of friends and family members — followed by funerals beamed to mourners connected by Zoom.
Resilient as people are, many have been cast adrift, and more now than ever, they need structure, something they can depend on.
This year on the Governor’s Fishing Opener, Walz isn’t offering that.
Maybe next time.”
He could at least pretend ( Like most politicians ) that he cares about outdoorsmen in Minnesota
He could at least pretend ( Like most politicians ) that he cares about outdoorsmen in Minnesota
That’s exactly what he was doing planning whatever you want to call this weekends event, and visiting MN Fish and the dozen people that tuned into their event, pretending.
Well I guess he could fall out of the boat.
He also recently purchased a cabin on a lake in South Dakota. Oh the irony of that. Criticized that Governor for essentially staying open, yet he buys property there.
Bigger fish to fry than, well, a fish.
Not worried about it one single bit
Bigger fish to fry than, well, a fish.
Not worried about it one single bit
You must hate fishermen. 
Well ya know, over in SD he wouldn’t have to pay taxes to cover all the programs like Minnesota has.
He also recently purchased a cabin on a lake in South Dakota. Oh the irony of that. Criticized that Governor for essentially staying open, yet he buys property there
No kidding, where did you see that?
No kidding, where did you see that?
It was on the interwebs somewhere this morning. Not in a news source. I think it was referenced in a comment section about Kristi Noem, but cant recall. I almost reached the end of the internet today so it was a lot of information ago.
Beadstrodamus…..Flannigan is his liet. Gov. being how much she emphasized her Native American card after the election I’m predicting at some point some policy will go into effect that will really urine sportsmen off.
Who would want this clown in there boat
Does this fit the clown??
Who would want this clown in there boat
One could get him to the middle of the lake and say “put out or swim”. Get a change to screw him like he has screwed us. He most likely couldn’t find a big enough boat to fit his ego.
This is a shame. I was able be apart of a Governors Pheasant opener right before COVID. Obviously there will be a little rable about dems vs repubs but for the most part it was a time to set that aside and highlight the outdoors aspect of the area and on a state recogonized level. For us it was our Pheasants Forever chapter closing on a large land parcel if land. It sucks that politics has truly divided us enough that we can’t even come together and celebrate something that isn’t blue or red, but inherently Minnesotan. You know the worst thing about politics, it’s the politics…
For those interested….
It is Twitter but ….
Just saw this the other day by Clearwater.
awe man that’s funny!!!! 
For those interested….
It is Twitter but ….
That’s the tweet I saw LOL
Sigh, even our hobby is politicized. It’s all on him though — there are traditions in this state, and this is one of them. It’s one of the very few that are unique to MN and by golly, you just have to keep doing it. There should be no other option.
This is a shame. I was able be apart of a Governors Pheasant opener right before COVID. Obviously there will be a little rable about dems vs repubs but for the most part it was a time to set that aside and highlight the outdoors aspect of the area and on a state recogonized level. For us it was our Pheasants Forever chapter closing on a large land parcel if land. It sucks that politics has truly divided us enough that we can’t even come together and celebrate something that isn’t blue or red, but inherently Minnesotan. You know the worst thing about politics, it’s the politics…
I agree. There was a time when the governor would go fishing simply because it was opener. It’s not like you have to discuss politics in the boat. Just fish. Really unfortunate.
When he asks the question “Whats in it for me?” If it ain’t cash he ain’t coming. Going to the casino he can kill 3 birds with one stone…1) donations from the tribes 2) spend some of the surplus on the tribes 3) collect some votes.
Plus he can give that education speech a break.
Whats not to like? 
If we could only get so lucky for him to drown….
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