RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: And in Minnesota, the state government is closed for business this morning. The government shut down Friday after days of around-the-clock talks failed to produce a deal between the Republican-controlled legislature and the Democratic governor. There were no new budget negotiations over the three-day Independence weekend. Governor Mark Dayton said a break could do everyone good.</s>MARK DAYTON: Well, I think sometimes you just need a little bit of a breather.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: Still, Dave Thompson, a Republican leader in the Senate, said his party was prepared to hold its ground.</s>DAVE THOMPSON: The feedback that I'm getting is we've got to stop this spiraling cost of government and so hang tough. That's the feeling that I got.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: Well, they may be hanging tough but lawmakers on both sides are set to return to the negotiating table today.
In Minnesota, the state government has been shut down since Friday. Days of around-the-clock talks failed to produce a deal last week between the Republican-controlled legislature and the Democratic governor. There were no new budget negotiations over the holiday weekend. Frustrated residents lined parade routes and shouted at waving politicians, telling them to "get back to work."