How will the federal government shutdown affect Minnesota?

Congressional Democrats and Republicans couldn’t reach a spending agreement Tuesday night, which means as of Wednesday much of the federal government has shut down.

Government agencies will furlough many workers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, although the precise number could take days or weeks to sort out.

Meanwhile, other workers like FBI agents, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and TSA agents operating airport checkpoints will stay on the job — but they won’t get paid until the shutdown ends. The same goes for members of the armed forces.

Programs that rely on mandatory spending continue during a shutdown, such as Social Security payments, Medicare coverage and veteran health care.

You’ll still get mail, too. The U.S. Postal Service, an independent entity funded through its services and services, will be unaffected.

Here’s what we know about how the shutdown will impact Minnesota.

Voyageurs National Park open, but services reduced

Voyageurs National Park along the Canadian border remains open, despite the federal government shutdown. But staffing and services at Minnesota’s only national park will be curtailed. 

“Our visitor centers will all be closed. And staffing will be extremely limited. So folks would want to take a lot of extra care and caution” if they’re venturing into the park, said Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of Voyageurs Conservancy, a nonprofit that advocates for the park and works closely with staff. 

Callers to the park’s headquarters get a recorded message saying park staff are not available to respond to calls “due to the current lapse in federal government appropriations.” 

Hiking trails will remain open. And campsites that visitors boat into are still accessible, with reservations available at recreation.gov. 

But services including trash collection and bathroom maintenance will be limited. There are also fewer park staff available for emergency response, although the park partners with local and state officials to respond to emergency calls, Hausman Rhode said. 

“The worst part of this is our park staff are now put in the position when they don't know when their next paycheck is coming, and that's just not right,” she said. Staff also don’t know who is going to be deemed “essential” and brought back to work to manage the park during the shutdown. 

Even before the shutdown, the park had 12 vacant positions, said Hausman Rhode, including the permanent superintendent position, as well as a wildlife biologist, archives and collections manager, and law enforcement staff. 

However, local boat taxis, guides and lodges and other small business operators remain open to help people visit the park and view fall colors, which are at near-peak conditions. 

“It is a beautiful time to be at Voyageurs,” said Hausman Rhode.

Lawsuits against Minnesota pause

Some high-profile lawsuits filed by the federal government against Minnesota officials are being put on hold due to the government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked judges Wednesday to temporarily pause cases filed by the Trump administration.

That includes a lawsuit filed just last week against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon over his refusal to release statewide voter registration data to federal officials.

Also in limbo is a case that names Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants. That one deals with tuition assistance to people living in the country without legal status.

In asking for a pause, Justice Department attorneys said the agency lacks money to carry out the civil cases during a federal shutdown. They say only cases that are “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property” are moving ahead as usual. Department employees are not permitted to work on other cases, even if on a voluntary basis.

The new filings say it is better to put the cases on hold until usual civil litigation activity is rebooted, but notes “we greatly regret any disruption caused to the court and the other litigants.”

The requests give no timetable for resuming the litigation.

Farmers: Shutdown compounds worries

Wednesday morning, faith and labor leaders held a news conference at the state Capitol to urge Congress to extend tax credits to offset the cost of health insurance.

The credits are a sticking point in the debate around a stopgap funding bill. Democrats wanted it included in the continuing spending resolution, but Republicans said the two measures should be dealt with separately.

Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, said the federal government shutdown comes at an already precarious time for rural communities. He urged lawmakers to reach a deal that includes the Affordable Care Act credits.

“The shutdown comes as farmers begin to harvest. They need to know now they can count on not only USDA, but other agencies,” Wertish said. “The last thing we need now is more uncertainty. We have enough uncertainty.”

He noted that more farmers are filing for farmer-lender mediation, the process to plan how to manage debt rather than moving toward foreclosure, this year than in the past two years combined.

Tariffs have prevented Minnesota farmers from accessing markets in China, previously the top buyer of the state’s soybeans.

Federal worker union responds

Ruark Hotopp, the national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — District 8, which represents Minnesota, said that many essential workers in prisons and Veterans Affairs offices will likely go without a paycheck.

“TSA at the airport in Minneapolis, those folks will be working without a paycheck. But then other places, like food safety inspectors… Those services won't be being provided,” Hotopp said.

With frequent layoffs earlier in the year with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, Hotopp said he and his union members are exhausted.

“They've made us miserable. With DOGE and their fake buyouts, they did get a number of people to take early retirements,” he said. But it hasn’t deterred him yet. “We are going to continue to work on behalf of the American people.”

Click the play button above to listen to Hotopp’s full interview with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer.

Ellison: Shutdown is not a matter for the courts

Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former member of Congress, said that while the state had standing to sue on other actions from the Trump administration, it couldn’t challenge the government shutdown in court.

He urged Minnesotans to call their members of Congress to urge a conclusion.

“This thing, the shutdown is something that we can't sue our way out of. Congress has to come back and deal with it,” Ellison said. “I'm hoping that Minnesotans call their legislators, Republicans and Democrats, and tell them, ‘Get back to the table and negotiate.’

Smith: Shutdown, higher health insurance premiums are a 'lose-lose situation'

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota was one of many Senate Democrats who voted against the Republican-crafted spending bill. Smith told MPR News host Nina Moini on Wednesday Democrats want to reverse the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s mega-bill passed this summer and extend certain tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. But Republicans aren’t budging.

“Democrats want to work with Republicans to halt the massive increase in health insurance premiums and so far Republicans have said no,” said Smith. “What we are doing here is saying, ‘We’re not going to help you take health care away from people, we’re not gonna help you raise insurance premiums for Minnesotans and people around the country.’ Our doors are wide open to come to an agreement.”

The last government shutdown in 2018 lasted for 35 days, the longest in history. Smith said President Trump will need to find common ground with Democrats to avoid prolonging the shutdown.

“We are in a lose-lose situation in the sense that if we don’t fight, then people’s health insurance premiums are going to be massively impacted and going up,” said Smith. “And yet there is this real impact on people’s lives that I take very seriously too.”

Top Republicans have accused Democrats of taking the federal budget “hostage” to advance their policy goals. 

“The reason the government is shut down this morning is because the Democrats decided they would rather hold our government hostage and issue a $1.5 trillion ransom note of radical demands instead of joining us as we try to govern,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, the Republican who serves as House majority whip, at a press conference in Washington D.C. Wednesday morning. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Correction (Oct. 28, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled Ruark Hotopp’s name. The story has been updated.

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