government shutdown

Minnesota's 20-day state government shutdown hurt state revenue collections last month as tax auditors stayed home and lottery sales halted. The state's top finance official said Wednesday that the state took in $16.2 million less than anticipated for the month, a 1.7 percent drop from expectations.

Minnesota's 20-day government shutdown made the national hiring picture in July a little bit gloomier than it would have been otherwise. The U.S. Labor Department's July hiring report showed a slight uptick in hiring by private business, with about 154,000 jobs added nationwide. But that didn't correspond to government jobs, with about 37,000 lost.

Stearns County's Highway Department dug into its own bank account to keep the West Metro Corridor project going during the government shutdown. Stearns County Assistant Engineer Jodi Teich says they paid less than $3,500 in materials testing and one contract payment of about $685,000.

A group of Republican state senators hope to prevent future Minnesota government shutdowns through a plan to continue spending even if politicians can't agree on a budget. The proposal outlined Thursday by Senator Ted Lillie and colleagues would extend current spending levels if the state began a new budget cycle without a new budget in place.

It's back to work tomorrow for thousands of MnDOT workers now that the government shutdown is over. But, MnDOT's Kevin Gutknecht says the staffers will need to get up-to-speed on their paperwork and impending duties before you start seeing things get back to normal.

With the Minnesota government shutdown over, Canterbury Park in Shakopee plans to reopen Thursday morning. President and CEO Randy Sampson says the doors will open at 10 a.m. for the card casino, simulcast racing will start around midday and live racing will return at 7 p.m. for the first time in three weeks.

The end of Minnesota's state government shutdown means state parks will soon start re-opening, but it will take some time. Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris Niskanen says parks need to be cleaned up and checked for safety.

Minnesota state employees have been recalled to work beginning Thursday now that a budget showdown is over. About 22,000 state workers have been off the job since the government shutdown July 1 because Gov. Mark Dayton and Republicans could not agree on taxes and spending in a new budget.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has signed a new budget that ends the nation's longest state government shutdown in the past decade. Dayton's signature came Wednesday after lawmakers met in special session starting Tuesday afternoon to give their own approval to the deal.

Minnesota lawmakers have approved a budget deal that will end a 20-day state government shutdown as soon as Gov. Mark Dayton signs it.