Maple Grove Braces as Minnesota State Government Shuts Down

The state of Minnesota has officially shut down.

After weeks of intense negotiations, capped by closed-door sessions through Thursday’s waning minutes, Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers failed to agree on an operating budget for the coming biennium.

“I deeply regret that after two days of intense negotiations we have failed to reach an agreement,” Dayton said during a 10:30 p.m. press conference in his office.

Dayton continued: “I offered a plan to raise the taxes of only those Minnesotans who make more than $1 million per year. That is less than 0.3% of the state population. Despite many hours of negotiations, the Republican caucus remains adamantly opposed to new taxes.”

Earlier in the week, Gov. Dayton said a deal would have to be done by Wednesday in order to draft and pass the necessary legislation. But Thursday, the governor continued meeting with GOP leaders on-and-off trying to put an agreement in place.

At around 10 p.m. Thursday evening Gov. Dayton rejected a two page temporary funding deal from the GOP leadership that would keep the Minnesota government operational for an additional 10 days.

"There are a lot of people on the steps of the Capitol right now asking us to not shut down the government. This document is their answer,” Koch said referring to the lights-on bill.

When asked his response to the 10-day temporary funding bill, Gov. Dayton’s answer was frank and clear: “I think it’s a publicity stunt,” he replied.

Transportation continues to be a key concern for the city of Maple Grove with road projects such as Bass Lake Road and Highway 610 halted during the shutdown.

A glimmer of hope for Maple Grove transportation came the afternoon of June 30 when it was announced the closure associated with the Highway 610 project would reopen just hours before the state shutdown deadline.

“There was some extra pressure to get it open with the thought of a shut down, but our goal even before a potential shut down might occur was to have open sooner not later,” Maple Grove City Administrator Al Madsen said before the state shutdown happened. “I have no problem at all seeing it open before a possible state shutdown as our top focus has been on meeting the transportation needs of our residents and all others that use our road system. It is good to have open tonight.”

In the wake of the state government shutdown, the Maple Grove License Center is likely to continue to remain open for limited services, according to Hennepin County. But there won’t be any processing of boating, ATV or fishing licenses because the Department of Natural Resources Electronic Licensing system has been shutdown July 1.

Owing to a June 29 ruling by Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin, state correctional facilities, nursing homes, public safety, and payment of medical services are all considered “core functions” of government and will continue operating. Everything else is no longer functional until a budget deal is reached.

The heart of the impasse has always been the $1.8 billion difference between Gov. Dayton’s operating budget and the budget proposed by the GOP. Central to the issue is the method for closing Minnesota’s $5 billion budget gap.

While both Gov. Dayton and the GOP leadership have committed themselves to working further toward an agreement, no date has been set for the next round of negotiations.