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Shutdown hits laid off state worker and family hard

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The Minnesota state government shutdown is now in its second week. DFL Governor Mark Dayton and Republican leaders in the legislature appear further from a budget deal than they were when the shutdown began.

Over the course of the shutdown, we'll check in from time to time with some of the 22,000 state workers who are currently laid off.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with John Erb. Before the shutdown, he studied the state's wolves, bobcats and other wildlife as a biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He's been there 13 years. Erb has a wife and three children ages eight to 22. He lives in Grand Rapids.