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Summary Minnesota's state government has shutdown as budget talks end without a deal.
State parks and campgrounds in Minnesota remained closed ahead of their busiest stretch of the year for the July 4 holiday.Dozens of highway rest stops were shut down for one of the biggest travel days of the year after the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders failed to agree on a budget.The broad shutdown means around 25,000 of roughly 36,000 state employees will be furloughed and all but the most critical state functions suspended. As with tensions across state governments from Wisconsin to Ohio, the shutdown had its origins in elections last November, when Minnesota voters elected the states first Democratic governor in 20 years and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Mark Dayton blames the Republican majorities in both legislative bodies, and the GOP majorities blame the governor for the failure to reach a budget deal before this week’s deadline.Dayton and the Republican-led Legislature have been far apart in their public positions over a two-year budget plan to close a $5 billion deficit. Only the agricultural budget was approved during the legislative session that ended in May.Dayton said his last proposed two-year general fund budget was $35.7 billion, but the differences between his approach and the Republican leaders had not changed since January. The gap between the two sides stood at $1.4 billion, he said.Republican leaders had asked Dayton to call a special session to approve a 10-day funding extension, saying they believed they were close to a budget deal. Dayton dismissed the offer as a publicity stunt.Neither Dayton nor the Republican leaders gave any indication when they would meet next to discuss the budget.
