The goodwill that exists among Minnesotans for conservation of the state’s natural resources and especially for preservation of outdoor traditions — fishing among them — is unbounded.

That was among my thoughts last weekend during the inland walleye and northern pike opener, which some friends and I spent on Lake Winnibigoshish (“Winnie”) while fishing out of McArdle’s Resort on Winnie and nearby Paradise Resort on Moose Lake.

On the season’s first day, Winnie was loaded with boats, most carrying an average of three anglers. An hour’s drive north or so of that giant lake, Upper Red Lake also was crowded, as were, not far away, Leech and Cass lakes.

Department of Natural Resources conservation officer (CO) Andrew Goodman of Perham concurred the opener was bustling, saying it was the busiest he’s seen in recent memory.

CO Aaron Larson of Tower agreed, reporting a busy opener on Lake Vermilion, while CO John Slatinski IV, working out of Ray, said he couldn’t remember a recent opener as hectic.

Fishing license sales just before the opener were 7% higher than a year ago, confirming the officers’ observations.

While waiting last weekend in long lines at bait shops and at boat launches, and while trolling a quarter-ounce jig in 12 feet of water on the opener (fishing partners Joe Hermes, Steve Vilks, my wife, Jan, and I had good luck), these were two of my observations:

• More women are fishing now than in previous years, a trend that in my view must continue for fishing to remain the state’s premier outdoor activity.
• Perhaps counterintuitively, given the meteoric rise in popularity of competitive fishing in Minnesota among 7th-12th graders, fewer young people appear to be fishing on the opener — and at other times — than has been the case in Minnesota historically. (This could be because many school fishing competitions are for bass, not walleyes.)

The two issues are connected in my view, and how they play out, alone and together, will help determine whether fishing, Minnesota’s premier outdoor pastime, continues to thrive or suffers.

The issue is important to everyone, not just anglers, because fishing is second only to camping in the amount of money ($36 billion) it contributes to the U.S. recreation economy. The funds not only underwrite fisheries management, they help ensure the presence of surface and sub-surface clean water.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, about 20% of anglers in Minnesota are women. That percentage is impressive and might be the highest among all states. But it will have to increase markedly to ensure future generations of kids are exposed to fishing and other outdoor activities in intentional ways.

That’s because women generally have more influence on how a family spends its time than men do. And given that any young kid doing anything outdoors — playing in mud included — is likely to be better off psychologically and emotionally than a kid who stares at a phone or computer all day, more women (and men) of the future will, in my view, have to help kids make healthier choices, including some that include rods, reels and lures.

Diane Scott, a Future Anglers of Minnesota (FAM) board member, believes fishing might hold special promise for a kid’s development.

“Our group probably interacts with 250 kids a year,” Scott said of FAM. “This includes Callan Wagner, my grandson, who was my biggest reason for getting involved with FAM.”

As proud as Scott is of 13-year-old Callan’s developing angling prowess, she’s prouder still of the fundraiser he and other FAM kids participated in. Soliciting pledges for every fish they caught in a winter tournament, Callan raised $6,885 for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, while fellow FAM member Khloe Thorson did better still, raising $7,200 for a cancer foundation.

“We challenge our young anglers not only to develop their fishing skills but to help their communities,” Scott said.

Meanwhile, Women Anglers of Minnesota (WAM), the fishing group founded in 1977 to introduce women to the joys of fishing, continues to thrive. On June 8 on Lake Osakis, the group will host its 46th WAM Open Water Fishing Tournament, and members also will volunteer June 15 at Buffalo Days Fishing Klinics for Kids, and June 28 at the Jiggin’ with Kids nationwide virtual fishing tournament.

Impressively, WAM also sponsors 25 high school fishing teams and, in Minnesota, also sponsors the Student Angler Tournament Trail.

Of course, these groups can’t provide outdoor opportunities for all Minnesota kids. Parents also must help attempt to counter the temptations of electronics and social media with outdoor activities. In my experience, as a parent and observer of parents, that can be an uphill climb if a child isn’t brought to a park or similar environment by age 2 or 3, and isn’t soon thereafter taken camping, hiking, biking, fishing or otherwise doing something outdoors.

Which is why the seeming absence on this opener, as on previous openers, of young people is worrying. Not only because the future of fisheries and clean water depend on continued participation by the masses, but because society will benefit if more people spend more time outdoors.

A retired Twin Cities teacher and expert angler, Kay Hawley agrees.

A member of three fishing clubs — Minnesota Valley In-Fisherman, Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited and WAM — Hawley this weekend is passing on the joy of fishing by helping to host the Minnesota Angler Meet-Up at Vermilion Dam Lodge on Lake Vermilion.

“We have 30 anglers here representing the three clubs, and by joining forces and learning from each other, each of us will have a greater opportunity to positively impact the Minnesota fishing community,” Hawley said.

Then she went fishing, as she should.

Former President Donald Trump’s visit to Minnesota is energizing Republicans as they prepare to battle for control of the state House in November.

They’re hoping Trump’s presence on the ticket, and his reported focus on winning Minnesota, will help them pick up House seats in rural areas and possibly some blue-collar suburbs — even though the former president hasn’t provided a clear boost for down-ballot candidates in the past.

Republicans gained seats in the Minnesota House in 2016 and 2020, but they did so by outperforming Trump by about 3 to 5 percentage points. And they lost a state Senate seat four years ago.

Republicans say they don’t need the presumptive GOP nominee to carry the state; they just need him to do better than he did in 2020, when he lost Minnesota by about 7 percentage points.

“Trump doesn’t have to win Minnesota for Republicans in the House to be in the majority,” said former GOP House Speaker Kurt Daudt, who led House Republicans’ campaign efforts in 2016 and 2020. “If he only loses Minnesota by three or four points, it’s likely House Republicans have a majority.”

Republicans must gain four seats in the House to win the majority in November and end the DFL’s trifecta control of state government.

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin said he believes Trump will be a liability for Republicans in competitive swing districts. The evidence points toward the former president being a drag on the ticket, he said, since legislative candidates generally outperformed him both times he was on the ballot.

“The more that these Republicans, particularly these Republicans in swing legislative districts … continue to hitch their horse to his wagon, the more vulnerable they are,” Martin said.

Donations have poured in for the DFL since the Minnesota GOP announced Trump would headline its fundraising dinner on Friday night. Martin said the DFL has raised well over $100,000 since last week.

Minnesota GOP leaders wouldn’t say whether their fundraising has ramped up since they announced Trump’s visit.

But GOP Chair David Hann said Friday’s event presents a big fundraising opportunity for the state party. The state GOP has struggled to dig itself out of debt over the past year, reporting a debt balance of about $292,000 as of March 31, according to its federal campaign finance report.

Hann said he believes President Joe Biden’s unpopularity may drag down Democrats in November. And he said the DFL-controlled Legislature has given Minnesotans more reason to vote Republican, citing policy proposals that have prompted rideshare giants Uber and Lyft to threaten to leave the state.

“I think Republicans are going to have a good year,” Hann said. “I think there is a lot of dissatisfaction with what Democrats are doing in Minnesota.”

House Republicans are bullish about their chances to gain seats on the Iron Range, in the St. Peter-North Mankato area and in Winona. They’re also targeting DFL-held seats in St. Cloud, Northfield and Coon Rapids. Trump was competitive in each of these areas in 2020.

GOP House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she thinks Trump’s effect on down-ballot candidates “plays different in each part of the state.”

“We’ve been very intentional about finding great candidates that are well-known in their districts that represent Minnesota well, and that’s our focus as we look toward November,” Demuth said.

Democrats are looking to pick up suburban House seats in Hastings and Lake Elmo, where Republican incumbents aren’t running for re-election. And they’re eyeing GOP-held seats in St. Cloud and northern Minnesota.

Todd Rapp, a former DFL legislative staffer and campaign operative, said Trump could boost Republican candidates in close rural districts where Democrats hold seats. But it’s more likely the former president will galvanize voters in suburban swing districts to turn out for Democrats, he said.

“It’s been three and a half years since he was president, some of the memories fade a little, they get fuzzier. You get so focused on the current administration,” Rapp said. “But if he comes in and gives one of his traditional speeches, he might take those suburban swing voters and remind them of how they really don’t like and don’t trust Donald Trump.”

In an interview with a conservative news outlet this week, Trump described Minnesota as being “out of control.” He suggested Minneapolis would have “burned down to the ground” in 2020 if not for him, and he called for “mass deportations” to address illegal immigration.

Kevin Parsneau, a political science professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, said visits by either Trump or Biden could motivate voters. He said Trump’s early stop in the state may be an indicator that he sees Minnesota as a “borderline battleground state, or at least something he makes Biden want to defend.”

Those kinds of trips could affect close races in the Legislature or Congress, such as Minnesota’s competitive Second District, where DFL Rep. Angie Craig is fighting to keep her seat, Parsneau said.

“If you think you can win it on the margins, you do it,” he said. “That is bound to have some effects on some close races one way or another.”

Parsneau said Trump supporters seem to be more energized at this point in the race than Democrats supporting Biden, who is treading lightly on issues such as the war in Gaza.

“There are marginal districts in Minnesota, and if Biden supporters in those areas just don’t turn out, that could hurt them in those races,” he said.

The Minnesota Republican Party convention gets underway at the St. Paul RiverCentre, with the selection of national delegates and endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate on the to-do list. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the party’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner which will be held in association with the convention.  

Coming up Friday at noon, a special edition of Politics Friday from the 2024 State Convention for Minnesota Republicans. MPR News host Brian Bakst and the MPR politics team conduct interviews and a look at the scenes at the convention.

Later, a recap of the session-ending sprint at the state Capitol with MPR News senior politics reporters Dana Ferguson and Clay Masters.  

Subscribe to the Politics Friday podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.