Celette Couette and her husband, Russ, with the two bucks she shot the first time she went deer hunting. The deer was a 10-pointer she took with a slug fired from a .20-gaug

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources projects a good outlook overall for this year’s firearm deer hunting season which opens Saturday. A warm winter last year and an abundance of precipitation during the growing season should have a positive effect on deer populations throughout the state.

Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan will be holding the deer hunting opener in Sandstone on Friday at 5 p.m. For those who need a quick brush up on the basic rules for hunter safety or for those who need to educate younger hunters on the rules, the DNR has provided a quick list of the basics on their website.