Dayton to troll for walleye, budget deal

Gov. Mark Dayton prepared for Saturday's start of the fishing season by purchasing his license today at the Department of Natural Resources headquarters in St. Paul.

Dayton will host his first governor's fishing opener near Grand Rapids. He told reporters he plans to be on the water at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

"Unfortunately, my usual experience with fishing is I don't catch any and no one with me catches any," Dayton said.

Dayton said he will be away from the Capitol for about 24 hours. But he's not concerned about missing valuable end-of-session negotiation time with legislative leaders. Dayton said he'll have his cell phone on the boat, and he's also expecting to see House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, and House Majority Leader Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, at the opener.

"Maybe we can tie our two boats side by side and we can negotiate that way," Dayton quipped. "If somebody wants to offer final resolution to the budget in between hauling in walleyes, I think I'll be able to handle that."

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.