MADELIA — Plans are moving forward for the 2013 Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in the south-central city of Madelia.

The governor’s opener and its public events will be held Friday, Oct. 11, and Saturday, Oct. 12.

This will be the third annual Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener since Dayton held the first in 2011. Previous host communities were Montevideo and Marshall.

Madelia City Administrator Dan Madsen said his community is proud to bill itself as the pheasant capital of Minnesota and looks forward to showcasing itself.

Madsen said there are 8,600 acres of public hunting land within 20 miles of Madelia. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources bases its pheasant research in the city.

Madelia is 20 minutes west of Mankato and about an hour and a half southwest of Minneapolis.