The Cost Of Minnesota's Shutdown: A Warning To Washington

One place to measure the impact of the Minnesota-government shutdown is at a truck stop in Hudson, Wis., a small border town that hugs the banks of the St. Croix River, which separates a state with a budget from a state without one.

Truckers have been flocking to the Wisconsin stop, part of the national chain of TravelCenters of America, because the Minnesota-government shutdown has led to the closure of all the rest stops in the state, making it harder to find areas for truckers to catch rest that is required by federal regulations. Indeed, business is booming around the stop despite the fact that the gas pumps are under construction. "I was reading about the shutdown in USA Today in West Virginia," says Dennis Michaluk, 47, a trucker with American Emergency Response Training, finishing up the last of his eggs and toast at a 24/7 diner. "'Hmm, that's interesting. That's where I'm going,' I thought. 'Well, I've got to stop in Wisconsin.'" Michaluk put about $800 in fuel in a 2005 Columbia Freightliner — lost revenue for the state next door that, with a $5 billion budget deficit still not closed, could use all the earning it can get.

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