Minnesota’s government shutdown has an upside for Cook County. Contractors previously working on Highway 61 at Split Rock have been sent to work on the road project on County Road 8, Cook County Highway Engineer David Betts told the county board on July 12, 2011.
The board voted to use county dollars to keep two state employees at their jobs at least until the county board meeting on August 9 – halftime victim/witness coordinator Susan Maijala and full-time adult services social worker Jennifer Rue. Public Health and Human Resources Director Sue Futterer reasoned that county employees would have to do their jobs if they weren’t there, and those employees might have to be paid overtime to do them.
Commissioner Jim Johnson said he heard that the state is unlikely to continue the shutdown after the Minnesota State Fair opens because legislators do not want to show up there and have to look people in the eyes if things haven’t been resolved yet.
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