Minnesota Shutdown Threat Grows As Dayton, GOP Meet

ST. PAUL  (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders head back into budget talks with less than two days until a state government shutdown if they can't settle their state budget differences.

The meeting is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday in the governor's office. The Democratic governor said a day earlier that Wednesday is probably the last day he and lawmakers have to make a budget deal if they want to head off a shutdown that would begin at midnight Thursday into Friday.

Dayton and the GOP leaders have jointly agreed over the last five days to not speak publicly about their budget negotiations.

But there's no indication they've gotten any closer to overcoming their dispute about the total size of the next two-year state budget, which is supposed to be in place Friday.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)