MANKATO — Gov. Mark Dayton travels to Mankato today for the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Opener.

The public is invited to join Dayton for a banquet at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato tonight. The social hour begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are available from the Visit Mankato tourism office.

Following a morning of pheasant hunting Saturday, the public is invited to the O.A. Vee Memorial Wildlife Management Area outside Mankato for a land dedication and celebration.

This will be Dayton’s fifth annual pheasant opener. Previous host communities have been Montevideo, Marshall, Madelia and Worthington.

Minnesota’s pheasant population is up 33 percent from last year.