Minimum Wage, Big Checks Spur Obama Minnesota Trip
President Barack Obama's latest trip to Minnesota is about drawing attention to the state's about-to-increase minimum wage and drawing campaign checks to assist House Democrats in the fall.
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President Barack Obama's latest trip to Minnesota is about drawing attention to the state's about-to-increase minimum wage and drawing campaign checks to assist House Democrats in the fall.
Six months ago, a Twin Cities business took a risk few have voluntarily taken. Before state law changed minimum wage laws in April, the owner of Punch Pizza increased wages to $10 an hour -- a $2.5 million investment over the next 10 years.
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development officials say the summer job outlook for teens is looking pretty good this year. DEED Jobs Analyst Oriane Casale says the unemployment rate for teens in Minnesota is down substantially from the last two years.
A Twin Cities pizza chain is getting national attention once again for leading the way with higher employee wages. "Hi, everybody. In my state of the union address, I talked about pizza. More specifically, I talked about a pizza chain in Minneapolis - Punch Pizza - whose owner, John Soranno, made the business decision to give his employees a raise to ten bucks an hour," President Obama said in his weekly address.
Gov. Mark Dayton is capping a push to raise Minnesota's minimum wage with a ceremony to sign the bill doing just that. Dayton planned to turn the bill into law Monday afternoon in the Capitol Rotunda.
Gov. Mark Dayton plans to sign the minimum wage bill into law on Monday, bringing one of the country's lowest rates to one of the highest in the nation.
Lawmakers will be less than a month from the mandatory session finish line when they return to the Capitol after Easter, but don't be surprised if they make an earlier break for it. Much of the heavy lifting of the election-year session is done. Negotiators from the House, Senate and Gov. Mark Dayton's administration forecast more ease than usual buttoning up remaining tax and budget bills.
President Barack Obama is praising Minnesota lawmakers for raising the state's minimum wage.
Minnesota lawmakers are prepared for the final vote on a bill significantly boosting the minimum wage. House approval Thursday would send the bill to Gov. Mark Dayton, who supports the plan to raise the wage to $9.50 by 2016.
The bill ushering in one of the nation's highest minimum wages is hitting the Minnesota Senate floor and could reach Gov. Mark Dayton by week's end.
Minnesota legislative leaders appear to have reached a deal to raise the state's minimum wage. No details have been announced, but top lawmakers called a news conference for Monday morning to discuss an agreement.
This legislative session has stalled out with battles over a proposed $90 million Senate office building and a proposed minimum wage increase. But the battle is not between Republicans and Democrats - it's the Democrats who are fighting amongst themselves. With Democrats controlling the Minnesota House and Senate as well as the governor's office, it's the Democrats who are battling with each other over key issues.
Despite a collection of traditional adversaries aligning in opposition Friday, Democratic senators advanced a proposed ballot measure to let voters resolve a legislative deadlock over the minimum wage. A Senate jobs panel endorsed a constitutional amendment on a party-line vote over the objections of business, labor, faith and other advocacy groups. The measure would let voters decide if increases in the minimum wage should be automatically tied to inflation starting in 2017.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk says voters should decide whether Minnesota's minimum wage climbs automatically. A constitutional amendment that he and another prominent senator put in play Thursday would ask voters this fall if they think the wage should be forever linked to inflation.
Public bargaining is resuming over Minnesota's minimum wage. A House-Senate conference committee trying to forge a deal is scheduled to convene on Tuesday. The committee hasn't met since early in March after getting bogged down.
The push is growing to raise the minimum wage in Minnesota. Some lawmakers want to pass a bill this session to raise it to $9.50 an hour, but some workers in Minneapolis were rallying for much more Saturday. "I believe workers have a right, have a basic human right to be able to make enough money to raise their families and have safe affordable housing," Veronica Mendez Moore from Minneapolis said.
Another Minnesota-based company is hiking its own minimum wage. Mahtomedi-based Chuck and Don's Pet Food Outlet is giving its employees a starting wage of $10.10 an hour. Company founder Chuck Anderson says he didn't want to wait for mandates from the government to do what he calls "the right thing."
Restaurant and resort owners were at the Capitol Monday, lobbying against the proposed increase in the minimum wage. They say most servers already make well over the minimum wage when you factor in tips. Some said the increase would force them to lay off employees and raise prices, and they are trying to get lawmakers to carve out exceptions to the current proposed increase.
A political coalition pushing for a minimum wage increase in Minnesota is rallying in the Capitol rotunda as the new legislative session gets underway. House Speaker Paul Thissen and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk are scheduled to speak at the Tuesday event sponsored by the Raise the Wage Coalition.
The Minnesota House quickly passed a bill Tuesday to send emergency heating aid to people suffering through the brutal winter, setting a rapid pace on the first day of what could be a quick legislative session.
Democrats who lead the Minnesota Legislature left no doubt Wednesday that a minimum wage increase of some kind will prevail in the upcoming session.
Democrats who lead the Minnesota Legislature left no doubt Wednesday that a minimum wage increase of some kind will prevail in the upcoming session.
As Minnesota's legislative session nears, one of the state's minimum-wage champions has issued a challenge. Five House colleagues accepted Golden Valley Democrat Rep. Ryan Winkler's invitation Tuesday to live for a week on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Some of Minnesota's well-known mayors, including the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are putting their weight behind an effort to pass Minnesota's first minimum wage hike in 8 years.
President Barack Obama shed a national spotlight on Minnesota Tuesday night when he praised a Minneapolis business owner during his State of the Union speech.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have won their fifth straight game.
Last fall, Courtney Norgaard lost her life partner and the father of her two children, Joe Norgaard. He was surveying a rural stretch of highway in New Market Township, Minnesota, when a driver hit and killed him.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ordered U.S. and Minnesota flags at all state buildings to fly at half-staff in honor and remembrance of a soldier from Minnesota killed last weekend in Kuwait.
Minneapolis police are investigating three shootings that happened in a span of just 20 minutes Thursday night.
Charges say Sujan Tamang and his codefendant, 21-year-old Dipak Phayal, forced a student into her St. Cloud State University dorm room on Nov. 1, 2024. The two then assaulted her.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ordered U.S. and Minnesota flags at all state buildings to fly at half-staff in honor and remembrance of a soldier from Minnesota killed last weekend in Kuwait.
Minneapolis police are investigating three shootings that happened in a span of just 20 minutes Thursday night.
Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro was arrested and charged last July after authorities seized nearly 900 pounds of meth from two vehicles in St. Paul.
On Thursday, the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs posted on X saying nearly 20,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the end of February.
The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday voted to temporarily extend the eviction notice period for renters in an effort to help support residents impacted by Operation Metro Surge.
Charges say Sujan Tamang and his codefendant, 21-year-old Dipak Phayal, forced a student into her St. Cloud State University dorm room on Nov. 1, 2024. The two then assaulted her.
Southern Minnesota's Lois Widmark, 104, played a key role in helping the Allies gain victory in World War II.
On Thursday, the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs posted on X saying nearly 20,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the end of February.
Authorities have lifted a shelter-in-place warning issued earlier on Thursday in a residential area of Hastings, Minnesota.
Some Minnesota House Democrats think any federal immigration agents who lived in the state during Operation Metro Surge should pay state taxes.
As the war in Iran evolves, National Guardsmen from Wisconsin are being recognized for what they are doing in the Middle East.
It's the season for booking those spring break getaways, and if you're looking to skip the airport this year, take a page out of the Condé Nast Traveler.
A judge has sentenced a Wisconsin man who forged threats against President Donald Trump as part of a deportation scheme to 16½ years in prison.
A fire at a hotel in Superior, Wisconsin, Monday night left one person hurt and forced guests to move to new lodgings.
Excitement is in the air in northern Wisconsin with the 52nd annual American Birkebeiner underway.
Minnesota native and World War II veteran Les Schrenk died earlier this week. He was 102 years old.
People from across the nation are traveling to the Twin Cities, but not as tourists. Many want to learn in person from Minnesota protestors to bring that knowledge back to their own cities.
The Edina wife and mother of three said she felt called to go and protest in south Minneapolis after learning that Alex Pretti had been shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents.
Tuesday afternoon, more than 20 people gathered on the Highway 62 bridge between Minneapolis and Richfield after a small protest sparked a confrontation there last week.
Karmel Mall has been mostly silent, with shops closed at the building on East Lake Street. Operation Metro Surge has caused many Somalis to stay home.
One in six struggle to get pregnant or stay pregnant, according to analysis by infertility associations, and many cannot afford treatments due to high out-of-pocket costs.
Work permits, driver's licenses, a nail gun. These are just some of the items listed off in federal court Thursday. ICE can't find them, according to the attorneys for the former detainees trying to get their possessions back.
Here in Minnesota, a federal judge is threatening civil fines after ICE failed to return personal property to released detainees. As our Conor Wight shows us it's the second time this week, the U.S. attorney has been called to court.
Minnesota leaders are reacting Thursday to President Trump's announcement that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is leaving her post after facing increasing scrutiny following the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
Fertility treatments can be out of reach for many families who need it, but that could change under a bill at the Minnesota Capitol this year.
With severe weather season right around the corner, what homeowners need to know about the evolving coverage for your roof.
Gas prices in Minnesota are climbing, mirroring a national trend experts say is at least in part caused by the U.S. and Israel attacking Iran.
It's the season for booking those spring break getaways, and if you're looking to skip the airport this year, take a page out of the Condé Nast Traveler.
As the strikes from U.S. and Israel continue, and Iran strikes back, the violence and turmoil could have significant worldwide ramifications.
On Friday, hundreds of leaders from Minnesota food banks and food shelves came together in Brooklyn Center. Their goal is to find the best ways to help hungry families in the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, and while food prices remain high.
Minneapolis police are investigating three shootings that happened in a span of just 20 minutes Thursday night.
Charges say Sujan Tamang and his codefendant, 21-year-old Dipak Phayal, forced a student into her St. Cloud State University dorm room on Nov. 1, 2024. The two then assaulted her.
Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro was arrested and charged last July after authorities seized nearly 900 pounds of meth from two vehicles in St. Paul.
Authorities have lifted a shelter-in-place warning issued earlier on Thursday in a residential area of Hastings, Minnesota.
The first of five people charged with jury tampering and bribery in connection to Minnesota's Feeding Our Future scandal was sentenced Wednesday to nearly five years in prison.
One in six struggle to get pregnant or stay pregnant, according to analysis by infertility associations, and many cannot afford treatments due to high out-of-pocket costs.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. wants the popular coffee chains to prove their surgery drinks are safe for teens and suggested the Trump administration could place limits on your cup of coffee.
Tests of dozens of baby formulas by Consumer Reports found that nearly half contained potentially dangerous chemicals.
Minnesota on Monday sued Trump administration officials Dr. Mehmet Oz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an attempt to stop them from withholding $243 million in Medicaid spending, warning it may have to cut health care for low-income families if the funding is held back.
Thousands of Minnesotans enrolled in Medicaid take a total of millions of trips to their medical appointments each year through nonemergency medical transportation services, a federally required, taxpayer-funded program that's among more than a dozen others Minnesota determined to be at "high risk" for fraud.
Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota, will soon come under new ownership.
A new art exhibition in Shoreview, Minnesota, is inviting visitors to see art — and maybe themselves — a little differently.
Actor and filmmaker Bruce Campbell told fans that he is in treatment for cancer and will cancel some upcoming public appearances.
The Minnesota Wild and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her announced a $600 million plan on Tuesday to renovate the team's arena and connected venues.
The 80-year-old will play at Grand Casino Arena on Sept. 15. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have won their fifth straight game.
Between the four teams duking it out in the WCHA semifinals — Minnesota, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota State — there are six players who won the gold medal for the U.S. women's hockey team.
Indiana ends a four-game skid with a commanding 77-47 win over Minnesota as Sam Alexis sparks an early blowout.
Holtz coached Notre Dame from 1986 to 1996, winning 100 games with the school, including a 12-0 national title-winning season in 1988.
Kirill Kaprizov broke the franchise career goals record with 220, Mats Zuccarello, Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes each had a goal and assist and the Minnesota Wild beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 Tuesday night.
With severe weather season right around the corner, what homeowners need to know about the evolving coverage for your roof.
With severe weather season right around the corner, what homeowners need to know about the evolving coverage for your roof. In Talking Points, Esme Murphy spoke with Grace Arnold, Department of Commerce commissioner about what's driving rising insurance premiums and what you should look from in home insurance coverage.
The month of March will be a pivotal one as Minnesota attempts to emerge from the shadow of massive fraud.
The month of March will be a pivotal one as Minnesota attempts to emerge from the shadow of massive fraud.
In the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, a bill to make it easier for someone to sue the federal government is advancing at the Minnesota Capitol.
One of the oldest operating theaters in the Midwest is in danger of closing its doors for good.
In St. Louis Park, Minnesota, there's a place where you can find radio and television technology that's nearly a century old — and it still works.
One of the best views in Minnesota is at the top of a Bloomington hill. But 15-year-old Jacob Larson isn't here for the scenery. He's here for the jump.
Pine trees are a common sight up north. But on a Carlton, Minnesota, road, they're joined by giant lollipops. They serve as the welcoming committee for Sweetly Kismet, one of the largest candy stores in the state.
John Lauritsen shares the story behind a massive snow sculpture that's now become a winter destination.
A push for stricter gun laws in Minnesota is not new. However, this session comes on the heels of a devastating mass shooting last summer in which the target was students in prayer at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
The military strikes against Iran have sparked intense debate in Congress. U.S. lawmakers are not only split on whether to support the operation but also on whether President Trump should have sought congressional approval in advance. WCCO investigates how the Constitution defines declarations of war.
Traveling is already stressful, especially flying, but the deadly conflict south of the border might have some travelers second-guessing their upcoming trips.
Drivers beware. Cities are seeing an uptick in stolen cars this winter.
On the first day of the Minnesota Legislature, artificial intelligence is giving visitors and lawmakers at the State Capitol a new sense of security.
Minnesotans got a great view of the northern lights Tuesday night.
A look at the newest addition to the polar bear population at St. Paul, Minnesota's Como Zoo.
From food shelves to school programs, our team is proud to serve where it matters most.
The Minnesota State Fair has unveiled its new food, drinks and vendors for 2025.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says tomorrow will feature rounds of rain with a few rumbles of thunder possible mainly south tomorrow afternoon.
In Minnesota, weather can be all over the place. Here at WCCO, we want to give you what you need to prepare for what's happening next.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says rain arrives tonight and continue into tomorrow, with the chance of some rumbles of thunder to the south.
Rain showers will arrive Thursday night and continue into Friday.
Friday will feature rounds of rain with a few rumbles of thunder possible, mainly south, in the afternoon, WCCO meteorologist Mike Augustyniak reports.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says tomorrow will feature rounds of rain with a few rumbles of thunder possible mainly south tomorrow afternoon.
A scream-worthy summertime staple is changing hands. Shakopee's Valleyfair is being sold. Photojournalist Joe Van Ryn and reporter Frankie McLister explain the changes and the reaction from Minnesotans.
Last fall, Courtney Norgaard lost her life partner and the father of her two children, Joe Norgaard. He was surveying a rural stretch of highway in New Market Township, Minnesota, when a driver hit and killed him. After months of investigation, the man behind the wheel was ticketed for careless driving.
Minneapolis police are investigating three shootings that happened in a span of just 20 minutes Thursday night. Ashley Grams has more details.
WCCO meteorologist Chris Shaffer says rain arrives tonight and continue into tomorrow, with the chance of some rumbles of thunder to the south.