Shades of Mediocrity

I do -- not, without a budget deal

With a state government shutdown imminent, couples with weddings planned at Minnesota state parks (including the Fort Snelling Chapel) found themselves in a bad, bad position: high potential for no access to the venue they probably reserved more than a year ago. Well, let it not be said that the governor and legislature can't accomplish anything: at Gov. Pawlenty's direction, the Department of Natural Resources has found a way to accommodate couples with state park wedding plans over the July 4th weekend.

I'm sure all of those families are breathing a huge sigh of relief, and are probably glad they don't have to find a way to make the state reimburse them for their losses should the state parks have been inaccessible. But what I'm wondering is this: assuming there is a government shutdown, and it isn't resolved any too quickly what with the holiday and all, what about couples with state park weddings planned for the second weekend in July? Or the third weekend? Are they frantically calling alternate venues (and all of their guests) trying to find another place to do the matrimonial deed?

This is a great example of the impact when a less-visible, "nonessential" state service shuts down. Libraries (though not to my knowledge facing closure because of state budget woes) are the same kind of thing. People take these services for granted, until they suddenly disappear.

Oh yeah, I just have to make one snarky comment here: the bride-to-be planning to marry at the Fort Snelling Chapel on July 2 says (in the Strib article linked above), "The governor apologized for my trouble." Well, isn't that nice. Is the governor also planning to apologize for the trouble of all of the Minnesotans he'd have lose their health insurance?