Politics & Government

A Recurring Theme on MN Shutdown Heard at Mendota Days

The impact of the state shutdown on local residents is varied, but the consensus is "It sucks."

From the bouncy castles to the beer stand, if you asked any given visitor at Mendota Days last weekend about the state government shutdown, you were bound to run into the same response over and over again. “It sucks.”

From those not overtly affected, to a woman that lost her job, everyone had an opinion, and their opinions are not forgiving.

“It sucks,” said Rachel Mitchell of Waconia, who was at Mendota Days with friends. Mitchell wants to get a school bus license to start work in the fall, but right now, she’ll have to wait.

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She’s not the only one.

“I want to get my motorcycle license but I can’t,” said Jeremy Demulling, an Inver Grove Heights resident.

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 “What I want to know is why they’re getting paid when they aren’t doing their job,” said Mary Kane, a member of the Inver Grove Heights VFW. “If I didn’t do my job I wouldn’t have it. I sure as hell wouldn’t get a paycheck.”

Kane’s friend Mary Elsbury lives in Rosemount and is a member of AmVets and the Ladies Auxiliary, but attends church at Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel. Because the chapel is administered by Fort Snelling State Park and owned by the state, last Sunday her church had to hold services at the Officer’s Club, operated by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Support Squadron.

 “Put me back to work,” said Mandy, an employee of Driver and Vehicle Services in Downtown St. Paul who wanted her last name withheld.  

“Can they lock them in that room, because seriously they spend half a day—”

“The governor goes in for an hour and then he takes off,” said her husband.

“They all do!”  said Mandy. “If they’d stay and do their jobs maybe we could work.”

The family is already feeling the pinch relying on one income.

“I had to pull my son out of daycare because I can’t afford to pay her,” said Mandy. Even when Mandy does go back to work, she has to find a new daycare for her 6-year-old because she has lost her spot.

 “It sucks,” said Mendota Heights resident Dan Norman. Norman said he’s not affected directly, with the exception of a road trip he took last weekend when he ran into a closed rest stop.

Norman was at Mendota Days with his friend John LeClaire. LeClaire took a more controversial stance. “I hope it goes on. I hope they both learned a lesson from this.”

LeClaire said he wants to see a solution resulting in no additional tax increases, reduced government and reduced benefits for government employees.

"I’ve got one word for you,” said Norman, “Racino. Racino, racino, racino.” A racino proposal bandied about this session would allow slot machines at Canterbury Park and Running Aces Harness Park, a potential source of revenue for the state.

Jason Pieper of Mendota Heights and his family got lucky. Pieper said both of his parents work for the state, and both still have their jobs. His mother works at the , and his dad works at the Minneapolis Veterans Home. While Pieper isn’t being affected personally, he said that it’s not okay for leadership to be taking three-day weekends and other time off from negotiations. “That’s what pisses me off.”

 Friends Mark Purdy and Paul Simpson also have the issue of weekends on their mind. Now that the state has shutdown, they can’t spend their free time at Canterbury Park or fishing at Fort Snelling State Park.

“I thought it’d be over by now. I thought it’d be a week,” said Purdy. “It sucks.”


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