Good News for St. Louis Park State Worker

The state shutdown isn't over yet, but Justin Kaufman is headed back to work nonetheless.

Kaufman, a state negotiations manager who is also running for City Council, said he was called back to his office on Monday. He was on July 1.

Kaufman added that he was told he was deemed "essential" this time around, and he returned to work with three other staffers—bringing the office to 14 workers on the job out of roughly 100.

When news came on Thursday that a budget deal might be near, Kaufman said he was , so Monday's news was certainly a pleasant surprise. However, he acknowledged that he and other laid off state employees have plenty of catch-up to do.

"I think everybody will be behind the eight-ball," he said. "Two weeks of work doesn't go away."