ST. LOUIS — Local federal workers worried for their livelihoods and finances after the government shut down Wednesday, the latest stressor for employees who already have faced uncertainty in recent years.

One U.S. Department of Agriculture worker said she was furloughed. A Navy contracting officer said he received mixed messages about whether to report to work. A volunteer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said essential staffers still were reporting to work Wednesday, but they worried about the lack of cooperation among the nation's lawmakers.

"I think this shutdown is going to last longer than the last one," said Vincent Stanley, a former VA hospital supervisor who now volunteers at the John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis. "I think this time, it's going to be more

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