2014-01-01 E-Bizicontact-archive.com/CmzbgAEK-VbV0PNMJjgw_5sr5k4cCded
Briefly
• PEOPLE: Tony Award-nominated Laura
Osnes, an Eagan native, plans to begin
her role as spokesperson for the Hennepin
Theatre Trust Spotlight Musical Theatre
Program this spring.
• BUSINESS: Best Western Plus on
Washington Drive has purchased Al
Baker ’s Restaurant next door and plans
to open a new restaurant.… To expand
Miller Manufacturing’s array of farm and
animal-feed products, the Eagan-based
company has purchased Allied Precision
Industries, based in Elburn, Ill.… Movoto,
a licensed brokerage in 30-plus states, ranked Eagan number three in
its listing of “10 Best Cities in Minnesota” for its “very low crime index,
great schools, high levels of employment and stable housing market.”
… Paragon Outlet Partners announced on Jan. 23 that its upscale
outlet mall, under construction in the Cedar Grove Redevelopment
Why, or why
not, boost the
minimum
wage?
Stakeholders
weighed in at a
chamber event
in December.
1/9
Area, is now 90 percent committed and on track to open in late
summer. Among the newly announced retailers are Gymboree, Lucy,
Movado, Old Navy, Reebok, Talbots and True Religion.… A new
restaurant, Sazerac, is planned for the former Time Out Sports Bar &
Restaurant location.… Stream Global Services, an Eagan-based call-
center company, was purchased by Convergys Corporation, based in
Cincinnati; the merged company will be the second-largest, customer-
management-services provider in the world with 125,000 employees at
135 locations.… In early January, Thomson Reuters cut 184 jobs in
management information services in Eagan; a number of those
employees may be offered positions with a firm that consults with
Thomson Reuters. Approximately, 7,000 employees work at the Eagan
headquarters.… Rasmussen College has opened a new 8,000-
square-foot law-enforcement training facility in Eagan.… Skyline
Exhibits plans to host the Upper Midwest Exhibit Designers &
Producers Association on Tuesday, Jan. 28.… Zest Bar and Grill on
Diffley Road closed in mid-December.
• GOVERNMENT: The Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development has created a Made in Minnesota directory,
which enables Minnesota companies “to find — and be found by —
home-state suppliers.” The directory currently lists nearly 800
companies, including these Eagan firms: Aerospace Manufacturing,
Inc., BIG INK, Bodeker Fixtures, EXOGAL, Hose/Conveyors Inc,
IPC Eagle, Ironwood Electronics, LaserMark, Master Tool & Die,
Mouli Engineering, Packnet, Plastic Promotions, Thomson
Reuters Core Publishing Solutions and WSI Sports. To list your
company at no charge, visit mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/made-
minnesota.jsp.… In late December, the Minnesota Valley Transit
Authority launched a 90-day Wi-Fi project at the Eagan and Burnsville
transit stations; buses displaying a Wi-Fi symbol will also feature Wi-Fi.
If successful, the service will be added to other stations and buses. In
other MVTA news, its 2013 ridership reached 2.7+ million riders, a new
record. “MVTA’s operation of the METRO Red Line service on Cedar
Avenue boosted us over the record,” said Gary Hansen, chair of MVTA
and an Eagan councilmember.
Correction: In its previous issue, Eagan Business News incorrectly
referred to types of apartment units in The Flats, under construction in
Cedar Grove. The upscale apartments will feature studio, one-, two-
and three-bedroom units.
• Not on E-Biz’s email list?
To subscribe to E-Biz or our printed publication, Eagan Business
News, visit www.cityofeagan.com/EBN. If you know a colleague who
would like to receive business news about Eagan, please forward this
issue of E-Biz.
A potential
increase in the
minimum wage
seems a likely
issue to kick off
the Minnesota
legislative
session this
year.
It’s about time,
say most DFL
legislators, plus
many labor,
community and
faith
organizations,
pointing out that
Minnesota’s
minimum wage
is among the
lowest in the
nation at $5.25
per hour
(established in
2005) and
significantly
lower than the
federal
minimum of
$7.25 per hour
(established in
2009).
Some business
groups say an
increase will
force
businesses to
cut jobs; other
opponents are
concerned
about how high
the minimum
wage will be or
about automatic
inflation
increases.
Three speakers
addressed an
engaged
audience at an
event hosted by
2/9
JANUARY 2014 VERSION B
the Dakota
County
Regional
Chamber of
Commerce in
December.
“The public has
really turned
onto this issue,”
said Rep. Ryan
Winkler (DFL),
kicking off the
early morning
event.
The chair of the
House Select
Committee on
Living Wage
Jobs and
sponsor of last
session’s
House bill,
which increased
the minimum
wage to $9.50
per hour,
offered an
economic
argument,
pointing to a
2013
Associated
Press survey of
three dozen
economists who
say that an
income gap is
holding back
the U.S.
economy.
Winkler said
that poorer
individuals
whose wages
increase put
newly acquired
income back
into the
economy.
Indeed, he
noted that
3/9
among the
fastest-growing
U.S. economies
are those that
have boosted
their own
minimum
wages,
including
California and
Washington,
D.C. He also
shared
compelling
statistics,
including the
fact that 80
percent of
individuals on
public
assistance in
Minnesota are
employed or
have been
working in the
past three
months.*
Increasing the
minimum wage
to $9.50 is “well
within the range
of reasonable,”
he said.
Recalling fondly
his own first job
at a Mankato,
Minn.,
Bridgeman’s
restaurant,
Bruce Nustad,
president of the
Minnesota
Retailers
Association,
argued that “a
dramatic
increase” in the
minimum wage
will decrease
such job
opportunities for
young people.
He argued that
the market does
a good job of
establishing
wages and
4/9
suggested
potential
impacts from a
minimum-wage
hike, including
reduced hours
and wages,
stifled job
creation,
increased
prices and
fewer
opportunities.
Dan McElroy,
president and
CEO of
Hospitality
Minnesota, said
he’s not
opposed to a
minimum-wage
increase, but he
wants the
government to
recognize tips.
Currently,
Minnesota is
one of eight
states that
disallow a tip
credit. In other
words,
employers must
pay employees
the full
minimum wage
for every hour
worked, in
addition to their
tips. In
Minnesota,
large employers
are required to
pay $6.15 per
hour, and small
employers are
required to pay
$5.25 per hour.
Some
employers pay
more. McElroy
also would like
a youth-wage
component in
any new
legislation.
5/9
Regardless of
one’s stance on
the subject,
Minnesota
political pundits
expect the
House and
Senate DFL
leaders to come
to an
agreement
during the
legislative
session, which
opens Feb. 25.
Last year, an
agreement was
held up by
conflicting
amounts —
$9.50 per hour
in the House
and $7.75 per
hour in the
Senate.
*According to
the Minnesota
Department of
Human
Services.
Event
attendees
comment:
“We tend to hire
a lot more high
school
students,
college
students and
retirees. [A
minimum-wage
hike] would
affect how
many of those
6/9
people we
could hire. We
have a budget.”
— Kay Butler,
Owner,
McDonald’s
Restaurant,
Eagan
“I support a
[minimum-wage
hike], but there
needs to be a
corresponding
increase from
the government
for [nonprofits]
like ours.”
— Kris Solz,
Director of
Human
Resources,
Living Well
Disability
Services,
Eagan
“If the minimum
wage was
raised, that
could help [our
clients] move
out of our
program
more quickly.”
— Syjong
Xiong,
Placement
Coordinator,
Employment
Action Center,
Minneapolis
7/9
“I’m all for
bringing the
state minimum
wage up to the
federal
minimum wage.
I think it’s silly
that Minnesota
is $6.15 and not
$7.25. I don’t
believe that
increasing the
minimum wage
and insisting
that businesses
do so will assist
the businesses,
the customers
or the
employees. I
think it should
be based on
how your
business is
doing and what
the market will
support. That’s
all just free
market.”
— Julie
Schroeder,
Owner,
Color Me Mine,
Eagan
8/9
9/9