Minneapolis teachers union wants contract talks in private

The Minneapolis teachers union has requested that state mediators allow private contract talks with the district. The teacher's current contract expired months ago and negotiations have been going on summer early June.

Minneapolis Federation of Teachers President Lynn Nordgren says having the talks open to the public has not helped bring the two sides together. But school spokesperson Stan Alleyne says the talks should continue in the open.

"For the last couple rounds we've had people who are very interested in this process, monitoring this process. We feel like right now it's important that we honor that, we feel like it's OK to let the public know what we're trying to accomplish and we don't really have anything to hide," Alleyne said.

Nordgren says the process is stalled.

"Many things have been brought to the table. That atmosphere has been very positive. But we don't feel like we're making a lot of progress. We feel like we're spinning our wheels. We believe a mediator will help us get more focused so that we can get to some decisions together," Nordgren said.