While there may be a few indications that the federal government doesn't truly want to stop serving the American public (Politico), the nation's agencies are nevertheless making "contingency plans"--just in case (New York Times).

Locally, anyone with an itinerary that includes national parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, and the like might want to prepare a Plan B (The Spot). Although the Crystal Fire is anticipated to be fully contained by Friday, the U.S. Forest Service is wondering how a shutdown could impact its role in fighting the blaze outside Fort Collins (Coloradoan), and employees of the Public Documents Distribution Center are bracing for furloughs (Pueblo Chieftain).

In all, more than 53,000 Colorado federal workers could be affected, and the state's elected officials in Washington are getting an earful (Denver Post). Among them, freshman Republican Congressman Scott Tipton, who represents the state's 3rd District, faces especially tough decisions given his "diverse constituency" (Post). And fellow Republican Doug Lamborn wants to guarantee active-duty troops are paid if a shutdown does indeed occur (Gazette).