8K in Minn. about to lose jobless benefits

Starting Jan. 1, about 8,500 Minnesotans stand to lose their extended unemployment benefits put in place during the recession.

Minnesotans can currently draw roughly 9 months of unemployment -- 26 weeks of regular benefits, as well as up to 14 weeks of extended benefits.

The Minnesotans currently using those extra 14 weeks of benefits will get their last payments the week of Dec. 28, said Rick Caligiuri, who heads Minnesota's unemployment insurance program. "It doesn't matter where in that extra 14 weeks you are," he said. "It's over."

A congressional budget deal did not renew the extended benefits.

Nationwide, more than 1 million people will lose their extended benefits. However, it is possible Congress could act to reinstate the benefits retroactively, which it has done in the past.

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