NISSWA, Minn. (AP) -- Governor Mark Dayton will be among the nearly 500,000 Minnesotans going fishing this weekend. Preparations are under way in Nisswa for the Governor's Fishing Opener, a Minnesota tradition since 1948.
The governor's office says Dayton plans to go fishing on Gull Lake right when the season opens at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
And he plans to fish again on Saturday morning before the official shore lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the Gull Lake Docks. Dayton plans to buy his fishing license at a Brainerd bait shop on Friday afternoon, then head for a community picnic in Nisswa. Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon is following a similar schedule. The ice is out on Gull and other lakes in the Brainerd Lakes area.
But some far northern and northeastern lakes still have ice.