Starting next year, Minnesota hunters, anglers, trappers, state trail users, and boaters will have the option to buy state licenses online, thanks to new legislation passed by the DFL-led Minnesota Legislature and signed into law by Governor Walz.  

According to the Department of Natural Resources, a new digital system will enable people to purchase licenses on their phones or home computers.  A recent article in the Star Tribune quoted DNR Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Olfelt: “This will get us into the 21st century.  We think people are really going to be appreciative.”  80% of Minnesotans surveyed by the DNR were in favor of the move to online licensing. 

The new online system will offer around 400 DNR products. According to Tribune reporter Tony Kennedy, “An example of the potential convenience would be that of a pheasant hunter getting off work in St. Cloud late on a Friday night and buying a properly stamped small game license via mobile phone while en route to a rural rooster hunt Saturday morning in southern Minnesota.”

The DNR has gone to great lengths to make sure that the roll-out of the system will be as smooth as possible. The department has not tried to build a system from scratch; it purchased the system from a vendor in Kansas City that has already successfully handled digitized licensing in Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. And buying paper licenses over the counter at sporting goods stores, registrar offices, bait shops, gas stations, hardware stores or other outlets will still be an option.  Olfelt told the Tribune, “We know we have people who have no access or it’s part of their tradition to go to a certain place to buy their license.”

This is a clear example of state government being flexible, competent, and responsive to the needs of Minnesotans.  Despite the gloom and doom we hear all the time from people on both sides of the political spectrum, it is good to remember that government can work well if we elect politicians who want to get things done.