Protests over shutdown increase

The prospect of state government shutting down July 1 has local government scrambling. As we reported last week, shutdown planning is becoming a chain reaction.

Hennepin County sent out a release Tuesday headlined, "State shutdown will have profound impact on residents."

There are at least four services the county has deemed critical to the health and safety of citizens that appear not to be included as critical services in the temporary funding lawsuit. These are homeless shelters, mental health crisis services, emergency case management, and the county's call center, which triages calls for assistance and offers information-and-referral services.

"These are core services for helping people in crisis," said County Board Chair Mike Opat.

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Another release rolled in announcing the League of Minnesota Cities, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, City of Saint Paul, mayors, police officers, firefighters and others will be holding a news conference at the State Capito Wednesday afternoon "to announce legal action."

As we reported June 17, cities want to compel the state to deliver Local Government Aid payments regardless of a shutdown.

We're working on the myriad angles of what a government shutdown would mean.

Check out our own Catharine Richert's continually evolving FAQ on the potential Minnesota government shutdown.