by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Sartell – specifically Blackberry Ridge Golf Course – is one of the river cities that will participate in the 2017 Governor’s Fishing Opener May 11-14. St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids are the other river cities.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Lieutenant-Gov. Tina Smith will visit the Greater St. Cloud area to help honor not just fishing opportunities on the Mississippi River but also to help highlight other assets in the area: Lake George, the granite quarries, recreation, bike-hike trails, dining and culture.
Invited guests will golf at Blackberry Ridge from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, May 11. Unfortunately for the public, most of the events and activities in the St. Cloud area during the Fishing Opener are by-invitation-only, to state and local officials and media people. Typically, the annual event is covered by media from throughout the Midwest and even internationally.
The one big public event, to which everyone is invited, is a free picnic on the grounds of Lake George, which will take place from 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 12. The picnic will feature lots of activities, exhibitors and live entertainment. Dayton and Smith are expected to give public addresses just before the picnic starts at 4 p.m. Earlier that day, there will be a kids’ fishing event at Lake George from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
This season’s fishing opener is hosted by Dayton and Smith and is coordinated by Explore Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Greater St. Cloud Area.
The by-invitation-only events will be mainly guided tours and activities that will feature the St. John’s University campus, the Beaver Islands in the river south of St. Cloud State University, a tour of Quarry Park, a bike ride on trails near the river, kayaking on the river and jet-skiing on the river.
Saturday, there will be a Fishing Challenge that will start with an 8 a.m. send-off ceremony at Wilson Park in east St. Cloud.
The opener will end Sunday morning with a breakfast for invited guests at “Courtyard by Marriott.”
Explore Minnesota’s website has this to say about why the Greater St. Cloud area is worthy of the site for this Fishing Opener:
“Located within an hour of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, central Minnesota’s Greater St. Cloud area thrives with the energy and rich culture of multiple universities, top-notch entertainment and dining in the historic downtown and many hotels within walking distance of the river. Visitors can visit granite swimming holes at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve and wander through some of the state’s most attractive urban parks, including the widely renowned Munsinger and Clemens Gardens along the Mississippi River. The St. Cloud area is one of Minnesota’s premier travel destinations, with the globally recognized Mississippi River offering some of the state’s most diverse fishing conditions with many opportunities to reel in walleye, small-mouth bass and more, whether ashore or on water.”
Background
The Minnesota Fishing Opener began, unofficially, in 1948 when resort owners with the governor’s help decided to publicize the state’s abundant tourist-fishing opportunities.
During the first one, Gov. Luther Youngdahl visited Onamia, on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs to tout fishing with the help of media. The first 10 fishing openers, through the year 1958, took place on cities next to Lake Mille Lacs, four times in Onamia.
In its 70-year history, only three times did the fishing opener honor sites along the Mississippi River – 1973 with Gov. Wendell Anderson at Winona, 1998 with Gov. Arne Carlson at Red Wing and this May in the Greater St. Cloud area.
Although the fishing opener usually focused solely on fishing in the state’s lakes, over time the annual event broadened to include also the other amenities – recreational and cultural – of the cities where the opener took place.
To find out more about the fishing opener and the activities set for this area, go to www.mngovernorsopener.com.
For all you fisherpersons out there, if you have a whopper or two of some fishing “tails” and/or fishing photos you’d like to share, please email them to assignmenteditor@thenewsleaders.com for inclusion in the May 12 Newsleaders fishing opener edition. Deadline is noon Monday, May 8.
in 1965, during the Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener on Gunflint Lake near Grand Rapids, then Minnesota Gov. Karl Rolvaag (left) and his guest, Gov. Harold Hughes of Iowa, held up a stringer of fish.
