Six months after opening the 2015 Minnesota fishing season on the Iron Range, Gov. Mark Dayton and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith return Thursday for the 13th Annual Minnesota Governor's Deer Hunting Opener.

A record number of Governor's Deer Hunting Opener events that are open to the public begin Thursday at Mountain Iron Community Center.

"The Governor understands the outdoors and the habitat," said Mike Kurre, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources liaison who's helped organize the event. "And we're lucky that we will have the Lt. Governor coming up as well."

Never in the history of the Governor's Deer Hunting Opener has there been as many activities for the public, said Kurre.

An expo that begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at the community center includes a variety of outdoor and hunting related booths, a blaze orange group photo, air rifle shooting competition, an archery competition between student Mountain Iron archers and their teachers, scat, track, and hide identification competition, a butchering clinic, and sausage cooking performed by several prominent Iron Range meat businesses.

Expo events run from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday. All are free and open to the public.

"We've never had anything like this expo," said Kurre. "With all the hands-on activities there are, it's a really big deal for the public."

For Mountain Iron, which turned 125 years old in August, it's a huge event, said Mayor Gary Skalko.

"It's really an honor and a privilege to be hosting the event," said Skalko. "It's an asset for our community and for the entire Iron Range to be able to showcase the whole Range."

Other events include a community breakfast and dinner on Saturday.

Hunting hosts will take media deer hunting at sunrise Saturday.

Minnesota has nearly 500,000 deer hunters. Economic activity related to deer hunting supports nearly 5,300 jobs in Minnesota and generates an estimated $263 million in retail sales annually.

For additional information on the event, visit www.mngovernorsdeeropener.com