ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Tomorrow’s fishing opener for walleye and northern pike will see many political figures floating down the Mississippi.
On Saturday, Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Daudt (R-Crown), and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-NIsswa) will spend the morning together on a pontoon on the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, as they start the fishing season with the 70th annual Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener according to KSTP.
Joining them in another boat is Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis). Omar has quickly risen with the ranks of the Democrat Party and has become a national icon as the first Somali elected official to any public office.
Omar has been incredibly outspoken during her freshman year in office, having made headlines for voting against a measure that would allow insurance companies to deny payouts to families of terrorists to accusing a Republican colleague trying to increase criminal penalties related to female genital mutilation as wanting to get into the media and have a flashy headline.
The fishing trip in northern Minnesota comes as tensions between the political powers have increased as the session comes to a close on May 22 – two weeks.
As reported by Alpha News, talks between the House, Senate, and Governor’s office have been rough, with potential talk of a government shutdown.
During the week, Republicans passed the State Government Finance Omnibus bill, the Agriculture Omnibus bill, Health and Human Services Omnibus Finance bill, Education Omnibus bill, and Environment and Natural Resources Omnibus bills.
The bills are five of 10 budget bills that are expected to pass before the end of session, but as MPR reports, Dayton plans to veto all five bills before the opener tomorrow.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
