Gov. Mark Dayton was in Marshall for the 2nd annual Governor's Pheasant Hunting Opener Saturday, but did not take any pheasants. Dayton's party hunted in a DNR Wildlife Management area.

Pheasant counts are up this year compared to 2011, providing good conditions for Minnesota hunters. Hunting season begins October 15.

Gov. Mark Dayton will be in Marshall to mark the opening of pheasant hunting season. The trip builds on a tradition Dayton started last fall, when he visited Montevideo for the first Governor's Pheasant Opener.

James Killen's painting of a black Lab and two rooster pheasants took top honors. This is the third time Killen has won the contest. The 2012 pheasant stamp will be available for sale in next spring.

The DNR says the pheasant population hasn't been this low in more than two decades. Pheasant hunters are expected to harvest about 250,000 roosters this fall -- compared to 500,000 just last year. The season opens up this weekend.

Surely not everyone would agree, but Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers says Minnesota made it through 2011 without much pain. He says the Republican majority and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton were able to work through the budget crisis without doing great damage.

Wildlife officials say a conservation program that protects native grassland is waning, which could hurt the state's wild bird population.