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Johnson County Cities To Finalize Decision On Minimum Wage Ordinance

David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen

A new Johnson County ordinance will raise the local minimum wage from $7.25 in $.95 increments, and this incremental rise will reach $10.10 by 2017. The first phase starts in a couple weeks, unless cities vote otherwise. The town of Swisher is set to do just that, as it is expected to vote down Johnson County’s minimum wage ordinance.

On this River to River segment, Ben Kieffer talks with Swisher city council member Mary Gudenkauf about the council’s decision. She says that an increase in minimum wage makes more sense in larger cities, but that business owners in Swisher say they employ mostly young, teenage workers in low wage positions.

Also joining the conversation is Iowa State University economics expert Peter Orazem who explains the impact of having each city within the county decide their own minimum wage.

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Ben Kieffer interviews Mary Gudenkauf and Peter Orazem - River to River

Other segments on this news buzz program include: an Associate Press review of an Iowa State Penitentiary prison escape from July, the results of the latest Quinnipiac University survey on the presidential race, a preview of the inaugural Dordt College presidential conference, how firefighters managed multiple field fires throughout Siouxland in the past two weeks, and an Ames company works to inoculate chickens in preparation for another possible avian flu outbreak.

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Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River