St, Paul, Minn. ? More than 9,000 state employees were told to stay home Friday and drivers found highway rest stops closed at the start of the busy Fourth of July weekend as a budget stalemate led to the first government shutdown in Minnesota history.

The Democrats, who control the state Senate, were locked in a standoff with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the GOP-controlled House over how much to spend on schools and health care and how to pay for it. As a result, the new fiscal year began Friday, just after midnight, with only a partial spending plan in place.

“I’m frustrated and aghast,” said Ellen Paquin, a clerical worker and 25-year state employee who said she worried about paying her mortgage after being thrown out of work. “We elected these individuals to do their jobs and it’s a complete failure.”

Essential services such as the state patrol continued to function, and an 11th-hour agreement was reached to keep state parks open over the holiday weekend. But drivers on one of the busiest travel days of the year found highway rest stops barricaded, and driver’s license exam stations and other state offices were closed.

Nearly one-fifth of the state workforce was told to stay home and use either vacation time or go without pay. They will be officially laid off if the impasse extends beyond July 15.

“I’d like to say I’m sorry to the people of Minnesota,” said GOP state Rep. Rod Hamilton. “This is disgusting.”

Eyakem Woubshet, of Fridley, Minn., takes down a Web site Friday as he stands outside the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services Office in Arden Hills, Minn. The office is closed due to a partial state government shutdown, and Woubshet had an appointment to take his behind-the-wheel test Friday morning.

The shutdown led to finger-pointing by both parties, with the Democrats accusing the governor of making shifting demands, and the Republicans charging that the Democrats wanted at least a brief shutdown to hurt Pawlenty as he prepares for a 2006 re-election campaign.

Pawlenty said Friday he wasn’t aware of any major problems caused by the shutdown but said his office was fielding angry calls from locked-out workers.

“I’m willing to suspend my schedule for the Fourth of July and be here,” he said. “It’s going to take some leaders to rise above this.”

The Capitol has been beset with partisan gridlock in recent years. The Legislature has 101 Democrats and 99 Republicans, and one third-party member.

During the months of budget negotiations, the Democrats had sought a tax increase for upper-income residents. The Republicans fought that, with Pawlenty advancing the possibility of higher levies on cigarettes and a casino at a racetrack.

Far from the Capitol, near Fergus Falls, many travelers pulled into the Big Chief truck stop on Interstate 94, not far from a barricaded state rest stop.