DULUTH, (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton is selling his budget plan at a packed town hall meeting in Duluth where he's also fielding questions about guns, the minimum wage and other issues.

The Democratic governor is holding the first of four "Meetings with Mark" on Wednesday to talk about his two-year spending proposal for the state.

Dayton says most middle class Minnesotans won't pay more taxes in his budget proposal. He says a tax hike on the wealthy is needed for the state to catch up as state funding levels have fallen for schools and colleges in the last 20 years.

Dayton also tried to allay fears about gun control proposals at the Capitol. He says gun show sales should be subject to background checks and says fears that will lead to gun confiscation are "bogus."

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