Area Residents Feel Early Sting of Shutdown Slowdown

have decided to keep their seven service centers operating through at least the immediate aftermath of the shutdown.

In the wake of Ramsey District Court  about critical state functions, it became apparent regular operations could largely continue at the county service centers. Internet Technology systems responsible for car and driver licenses and birth and death certificates would remain operational.

County Spokeswoman Carol Allis said workers won't be able to process boating and fishing licenses as the DNR's system won't be working, but residents looking to renew their driver's licenses or get new tabs for their vehicles can still do so during the shutdown.

"We're expecting a lot more people, a lot longer lines and significant delays," Allis said. "But it's still good news. Everyone here was relieved to hear the online system will be functioning."

Hennepin County maintains service centers in Brooklyn Center, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Edina and two in Minneapolis.

Lines stretched out the front door Thursday at Edina's , as area residents wanted to sneak in their renewals before the shutdown struck.

Edina resident Maggie Steinbrecher spent more than three hours waiting to renew her license. She estimated more than five times the number of people were there as normal, which she attributed to people worrying about the impending shutdown.

"This is the most people I have ever seen here," Stenbrecher said. "Normally you only have five people in front of you, but today they were running out of chairs inside."

When a clerk asked Steinbrecher if she wanted to retake her picture after this initial shot, she laughed and said it would have been "immoral" to retake one given the circumstances.

"If everyone there was retaking a picture, things would have only been worse," she said.

Val Baertlein, a Minneapolis resident seeking a marriage license before his July 22 nuptials, sat in line for much of Thursday morning. His bride-to-be quipped it wasn't the "romantic experience" they had been expecting, but they were glad to bid the service center farewell Thursday afternoon.

"I kind of hope they shut down for a few weeks now so I feel like this was worth it," Baertlein said.

While things were slow going Thursday, Allis said only now will the county begin to realize just how significantly it has been impacted. Hennepin County commissioners will hold a special board meeting at 9 a.m. July 6 to vote on any actions needed to respond to the shutdown.

"It's kind of like back with Y2K, where we didn't actually know until the morning it happened what was going haywire," Allis said. "Friday morning is when we'll see things that aren't functioning."