Heritage Council Decides On Executive Director
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A state council that recommends how to spend $100 million a year on outdoors projects has voted to tap the executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association as its top staffer.
The Lessard-Sams Outdoors Heritage Council voted 9-2 Tuesday night for 55-year-old Mark Johnson, of Grand Rapids, who has led the deer hunters for 14 years. The final decision is up to Legislative Coordinating Commission, which is expected to honor the recommendation.
The run-up to the vote was contentious. Johnson had been essentially eliminated until some council members walked out of a meeting last month to protest having just two candidates. Johnson was then added back to the field.
Johnson is a prominent figure in Minnesota conservation and a fixture at the Capitol, where he's lobbied for hunters' rights.
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