Almanac: At the Capitol

After talks broke down last night, Gov. Pawlenty and legislative leaders went back behind closed doors this morning. They all say the tone is focused. The big hang up, as always, is property tax caps. Once again they're doing "runs" on different numbers. They've been in and out of negotiations all day, but one leader said don't expect a deal today. House leaders are live on Almanac: At the Capitol tonight.

Democratic leaders ended negotiations with a stern letter just before 10:00pm last night saying they were at an "impasse" and "we are all frustrated." Frankly, part of the problem may be that the governor and the Senate don't need anything. As I've said a lot, the House is the entity that needs something, they are up for re-election.

Funny, not long before sending that letter Sen. Larry Pogemiller ran out of negotiations yelling "everything is going great!" Not so great it turns out. Moments before that Pogey poked his head out during Republicans' press conference where House Minority Leader Seifert likened being in negotiations like being on the Hindenburg.

-Mary Lahammer