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Rally Outside Capitol On 11th Day Of Shutdown

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's the 11th day of the state government shutdown and there are no new talks scheduled between Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers. A lot of people say they need the shutdown to be over soon so they can get on with their lives.

On Monday morning, protesters lined the Minnesota Capitol steps urging the two sides to reach a deal.

Members of various Asian-American communities in the Twin Cities including Hmong, Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian took part in the rally. People showed their frustration with the budget stalemate, holding signs reading "Shame on you" and "MN shutdown equals epic fail."

Community leaders say Asian communities are among the poorest in the state and are being hardest hit.

Zha Blong, a Hmong Community Leader and professor at the University of Minnesota is one of the organizers of the rally.

"We really want to call their attention to the suffering; that real people are actually suffering in real time so that they could actually get to work and really compromise for the people but not for the political party," said Blong.

Blong also said the shutdown is having a huge impact on non-profits and that agencies have to scale back by cutting hours.

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