Minnesota Shutdown 2011: Budget Dispute Continues, Negotiations Resume (LATEST UPDATES)

The post and live blog below are a collaboration between Patch and HuffPost reporters.

On the fifth day of the Minnesota state government shutdown, Governor Mark Dayton (D) said that he's prepared to resume budget negotiations with Republican lawmakers to close the state's $5 billion budget gap.

"This is a terrible situation," Dayton told Minnesota Public Radio on Tuesday. Over the weekend, he said to local station Fox 9 that the day of the shutdown was one of the worst days of his life and certainly the worst of his political career.

No talks were held to resolve the budget dispute over the holiday weekend.

The Star Tribune reports:

Minnesota stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue and get saddled with millions more in new expenses for every week that the widespread shutdown of state government persists.

In both subtle and stark ways, the shutdown that began Friday will bring new financial pain to the state treasury. Closing many operations will save the state some money, but an array of revenue sources as diverse as the lottery and highway toll lanes have been cut off.

Reuters and the Associated Press report that Minnesotans are expressing anger and frustration over the shutdown situation.

Over the weekend, Dayton faulted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for failing to reach a deal to avert a shutdown of the state government.

Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold in Minnesota.