For more than 20 years, Jim Lundy could count on the stability of a government job. But that changed July 1 when Minnesota’s government shutdown after lawmaker’s couldn’t agree on how to close the state’s $5 billion projected budget deficit.Lundy works for the Minnesota Department of Health. He’s a hydrogeologist, concentrating on groundwater. He works on ways to best use private ground wells, making sure people have clean water to drink. Out of about 50 employees, Lundy estimates that five or six in his program are still on the job during the state’s shutdown, during which only “core” government functions are funded. About 22,000 state employees are out of work.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=109733