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Minnesota fishing opener will be without guides or charter boats

A petition is circulating calling on the governor to allow guides and charters.

At DH Custom Rods and Tackle along Lake Minnetonka, it is business as usual before another opener.

"Through all this, we're lucky to be in the right end of things," said President Dustin Hafner.

He says he's actually busier than previous years despite the ongoing pandemic.

"That's what we do, we fish," Hafner said.

Coronavirus won't cancel this tradition in Minnesota, but the virus can give a different feel in some way.

"I'll be fishing, but I won't be guiding. Won't be taking anyone fishing," said Kurt Erickson with Erickson Guide Services along Lake Minnetonka.

For 21 years Kurt has been taking people out during the opener. Now for the first time he can't.

"It'll be a first for sure. What can I do?," he said.

RELATED: DNR says you should fish close to home as opener approaches

RELATED: Social distancing during the Wis. fishing opener

Guides and Charters are shutdown in Minnesota under the governor's orders.

So Kurt has already had to cancel about a dozen bookings.

He says he could still operate by limiting people on his boat, sanitizing, wearing masks, and keeping a distance.

"There's ways we could figure out how to do it," said Erickson.

He signed onto a petition calling on the state to allow guides and charters.

"Signing petitions and getting the word out," said Erickson.

Kurt also worries his business on Lake Minnetonka will take an even greater hit if travelers don't come to Minnesota later this summer.

"I think that until the planes are up and running and corporate USA is in full swing we're going to really take a hit this year," said Erickson.

He estimates tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

As of Thursday, more than five thousand people have signed onto that petition calling on the governor to allow guides and charters.

KARE 11’s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about the Midwest specifically, learn more about the symptoms, and see what companies in Minnesota are hiring. Have a question? Text it to us at 763-797-7215. And get the latest coronavirus updates sent right to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to the KARE 11 Sunrise newsletter here. Help local families in need: www.kare11.com/give11

The state of Minnesota has set up a hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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