On a Monday morning, preschool teacher Sandra Tanjich handed out wooden popsicle sticks to her students. She explained the students will use them to practice making the letter “H.”

“What’s a word that starts with the letter ‘H,’” Tanjich asked her students.

“Hippo!,” exclaimed one student.

This Head Start preschool is in one of three sites in Rochester operated by Families First of Minnesota. There's a fourth in Albert Lea. Combined, they serve about 500 students.

But executive director Kristin Quenzer said because of the federal government shutdown, the federal funding they rely upon to pay teachers, feed the children and keep the lights on — about $10 million this year — is in jeopardy.

“[I’m] definitely losing sleep over this,” she said. “I mean, all of our amazing teachers are pai

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