TheUpTake.org's Government Shutdown Coverage

We're headed for a shutdown. I'm not talking about Minnesota's government, I'm talking about our coverage of it.

After running our coverage of state politics on a budget that spends less than MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) does on coffee and donuts, we have no program dollars to continue to cover the state legislature. We've had to lay off our staff that was doing this work and we won't be able to bring them back unless we have a solid financial commitment.

It couldn't happen at a worse time. Minnesota's government is about to enter the darkness of a shutdown and needs the light of independent journalism to keep things square and in the open.

We've been there when you've needed us most. Can you imagine the Franken-Coleman recount without The UpTake? The 30-some gubernatorial debates without The UpTake carrying them live and transcribing them all? Every minute of the legislature livestreamed online. We've been there to make the process transparent and it's made a difference.

Our volunteers put their hearts and souls into our work, but they need our staff to make our coverage reliable and give them the structure they need to do good journalism.

You knows how important our work is. Please make a donation now, the amount is less important than the actual donation, and help us continue our coverage of these crucial events at the capitol. After you have done that, forward this appeal to interested friends and acquaintances. It's going to take lots of donations large and small to enable us to pull this off.

Thank you for your support.