• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / News / Commission recommends $8.25 minimum wage for Linn County

Commission recommends $8.25 minimum wage for Linn County

June 22, 2016 By Radio Iowa Contributor

A study commission in Linn County is recommending county officials vote to set a county-wide minimum wage that’s a dollar-an-hour higher than the state and national rate. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett backs that local boost, but suggests a statewide increase would be preferable.

“I don’t think it’s really good for our state to have a hodgepodge of minimum wages at different city levels and different counties throughout the state,” Corbett says, “so it’s really something that the legislature and the governor need to address.”

Corbett, a former legislator who served as speaker of the Iowa House, is considered a possible Republican candidate for governor in 2018.

Polk County officials are debating whether to set a county wage rate that’s higher than the state and national minimum wage. Robert Brownell, a member of the Polk County Board of Supervisors, says these moves put pressure on state policymakers.

“I think when you have a third of the population of the state, which is really Johnson, Polk and Linn (Counties), with three different minimum wages, if I’m a legislator, that’s something I want to deal with,” Brownell says.

Brownell, a Republican, is chairman of the Polk County Board of Supervisors.

Johnson County officials were the first in Iowa to pass a local ordinance establishing a county-wide wage floor that’s higher than the state’s minimum wage. Johnson County’s minimum wage has been going up incrementally and will reach $10.10 an hour on January 1. Four smaller communities in Johnson County have chosen to opt out and retain the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Critics say a higher minimum wage hurts small businesses with narrow profit margins and makes it harder for teenagers to get jobs.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Dean Borg; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Democratic Party, Employment and Labor, Legislature, Republican Party, Terry Branstad

Featured Stories

Bill would limit placement of solar arrays on farm ground

Marquette casino moving to land, leaving only 2 casino boats in Iowa

Reynolds signs her ‘school choice’ bill into law

Governor Reynolds touts 2024 Iowa Caucuses in Inaugural Address

University of Iowa grad presiding over U.S. House Speaker vote

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

No coaching changes coming for Iowa football

Iowa State names new receivers coach

No. 2 Iowa visits No. 1 Penn State in wrestling dual Friday night

Iowa’s Clark brings increased exposure to women’s basketball

No. 18 Iowa State women visit TCU

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC