Late night, stone-faced, no hint of progress
Good morning. Six days remain of the legislative session. The fate of a budget deal is unclear. Patrick Condon was at the governor's residence late last night and here is what he passed along:
Talks broke for the night at 10:45 pm. The Republican group (Daudt, Peppin, Knoblach, Loon, Golnik) marched out the front door together, looking stone-faced, and declined to stop to talk to the handful of reporters still left. Bakk and co. left through the side door, inaccessible to reporters, and Dayton did not come out either.
Here's a summary story from Condon and Abby Simons. Republicans said Tuesday the DFL was stalling and acting in bad faith, with DFLers knowing they have the upper hand in a shutdown scenario, even touting polling that says so.
Talks resume at 11:30 a.m. today. Here's today's schedule, with the House in session at 10 and the Senate at 11.
Apparently Gov. Mark Dayton will interrupt the negotiations at 2 to meet with Minnesota State University Mankato students who have walked 147 kilometers to advocate for $147 million in funding for MnSCU (State Capitol Steps.)
Since when are we using kilometers?
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith will deliver the Alexandria Technical and Community College commencement address (Runestone Community Center, 802 3rd Avenue West, Alexandria) at 6 p.m.
Ricardo Lopez with a deep dive on teacher salaries, finding Minnesota teachers afflicted with the same problem all American workers face: Health care inflation eating into raises. Take a look. Useful charts too.


