AN OPENER TO REMEMBER
Gov. Tim Walz, right, is seen smiling in the field as he hunts for ringed-neck pheasants at the Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Owatonna last weekend. Joining Walz was Becky Wolfe, left, Sierra Spindler, center, Derek Ritter, not pictured, and Al Steinbauer, not pictured. Photos from Gov. Walz’s hunt were taken by a single photographer from the governor’s office with access to the hunt. See pages B8 and B9 for more photos and stories from the event. Photo courtesy of Governor's Office.
The Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Opener came to Steele County last weekend for the first time in its 12-year existence, making Owatonna just the eighth town statewide to host the event.
Gov. Tim Walz and a host of hunters from around the state made the trip to Owatonna and brought with them their fair share of compliments for Husky Town’s thriving community.
“Well, I said last night – and I truly believe this – if you really want to see the soul of a community, look at how they treat their children,” said Walz “I think it’s pretty obvious with the nicest high school in America, what Owatonna thinks about their kids and what they think about their future. I think that’s always been the reputation of this community. Their schools have been great and there’s excellence in their activities.”
The opener weekend kicked off with its first event taking place at McKinley Elementary School where fifth graders were taken through a multiple-class event deemed “Pheasant School.”
Inside the event were classes such as entomology, dog training, game management, a nature walk and class games.
Once pheasant school wrapped up for the day, the public prepared for its first event with Gov. Walz.
A public land celebration on Friday, Oct. 13 saw Walz make his Steele County appearance as Chamber of Commerce President Brad Meier emceed the event with top brass members of the Department of Natural Resources and Explore Minnesota present.
Because of the rain, the celebration was moved to the Steele County Beer Gardens to honor the addition of approximately 40 acres to the Somerset Wildlife Management Area in Owatonna.
After plenty of speeches and applause, Meier sent the event into its second phase: a true public party with food trucks and live music from the Red Dirt Road Band.
The following day, hunters and media alike met early at the Eagles’ Club at 6:30 a.m. for a Hunters’ Breakfast to kick off the official first day of pheasant hunting in the state.
Groups scarfed down breakfast and then hit the roads at 8:30 a.m. to hit their spots to begin hunting at 9 a.m.
Groups walked the local fields for a little over 2½ hours before returning to the beer gardens to hit the brag board and display the birds they harvested.
Each group had the opportunity to have their photo taken with their birds before one final lunch and the bird-cleaning session brought an official end to the opener.
“As a lifelong hunter and Pheasants Forever member, the pheasant opener is one of my favorite times of the year. Thank you to the community of Owatonna and Steele County for making the opening weekend of the pheasant hunting season a memorable one. A celebration like this gives us the opportunity to make memories with friends and family, recognize the incredible conservation work that makes this sport possible, and showcase outstanding communities across the state,” said Walz in a press release following the event.
Despite Owatonna being the eighth town to host the opener across its 11 total events, the town has the opportunity to potentially be on the ticket to host again down the line.
Previous hosts Marshall, Montevideo and Worthington have all hosted twice, and according to the Chamber of Commerce’s Meier, Owatonna would love to see the opener return in the near future.
“I think the DNR and Explore Minnesota have already been like, ‘Well, are you guys going to do this again,’ because it’s been such a good experience. It’d definitely be good to have it here again,” said Meier.