The post and live blog below are a collaboration between Patch and HuffPost reporters.
Negotiations are going down to the wire in Minnesota as Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and top state Republican lawmakers work to strike a budget deal to avert a government shutdown ahead of a midnight (CST) deadline.
Little progress was made in talks late Wednesday night, Fridley Patch reports, Dayton and the Minnesota Republicans face the task of closing the state's $5 billion budget gap -- much of it left behind by GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, who declined to seek a third term in the 2010 election.
HuffPost's Matt Sledge reports:
Dayton is proposing progressive income tax increases to fix the state budget, which faces a huge gap over the next two years, while the GOP is demanding further spending cuts. Both sides said they were attempting to compromise. But time is running out, and even if an agreement is reached Thursday, it may not come soon enough to avoid a partial shutdown.
In the event of a government shutdown in the North Star State, a wide range of public services would come to a halt. Minnetonka Patch reports what could be expected if a deal is not reached:
A shutdown of state government would suspend virtually all services and divisions within Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources. All 74 state parks, recreational areas and campgrounds, visited by millions of people every year, will close.
Conservation and enforcement operations will also cease, and ecological monitoring will come to a halt -- which could have a profound impact on Lake Minnetonka. Zebra mussels were discovered in Lake Minnetonka last summer, and the DNR has made quelling their spread a top priority.
The Minnesota Zoo is not going gently, Apple Valley Patch reports:
An attorney for the Minnesota Zoo -- former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch -- is seeking a temporary restraining order that would keep the zoo open in the event of a state government shutdown.
A shutdown of the Minnesota government would come as the state's second in six years.
Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold amid the shutdown threat: