Politics & Government

Minnesota Shutdown Update: 'Negotiations Need a Breather'

Gov. Mark Dayton said he will consider any offers made over the holiday weekend.

Gov. Mark Dayton told MPR News on Friday that budget negotiations between himself and GOP lawmakers need a β€œbreather.”

The governor said he is willing to listen to proposals and even meet with Republican leaders over the weekend but if no offers were made he would β€œreach out” to them sometime on Tuesday.

The governor met with DFL leaders around 9 a.m Friday but details of the talks are being kept strictly confidential. According to KSTP-TV, Dayton has been in his office all day working on a compromise deal.

After weeks of intense negotiations, capped by closed-door sessions through the waning minutes of June 30, Dayton and Republican lawmakers failed to agree on an operating budget for the 2011-13 biennium.

The proposed budgets from the governor and GOP lawmakers remain separated by $1.4 billion.Β 

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