True North

Gary Gross reported that agreements might be reached yesterday, and updated on some of the partisan maneuvering. This morning, the StarTribune posted that lawmakers promise a noon announcement on hot-button legislative issues.

Pawlenty and the leaders had hoped to hammer out an overall agreement Saturday afternoon and follow up with marathon floor sessions to push through legislation for a balanced budget, capped property taxes, expanded health care, a Central Corridor line and more.

Instead, they remained deadlocked, seemingly unable to close the 1 percent gap that House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher said earlier separated them.

"We're 99 percent of the way there," said Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis. "But there's a lot of hard work between 99 and 100."

As World War II bomber planes flew over the Capitol yesterday, lawmakers must have been reminded of Governor Pawlenty's proposed funding for a state veteran's nursing home, and other items left out of the first bonding bill.

The Legislature is constitutionally mandated to adjourn on Monday, meaning that bills must pass by midnight today.

Legislative leaders said they planned to work through the night Saturday to pass the budget bill, tax bill, the health care bill and possibly a second, limited bonding bill.

Stay tuned for updates.