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Iowa Minimum Wage Hike Expected to be Canceled

Iowa Minimum Wage Hike Expected to be Canceled

Photo: WNAX


The minimum wage hike that was to go into effect this Saturday in Iowa’s largest county will likely be cancelled. That’s because Governor Terry Branstad is likely to sign a bill into law that nullifies local minimum wage hikes in Polk County as well as Johnson, Linn and Wapello Counties. The bill cleared the Iowa Senate last night. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the move penalizes workers who’ve already benefited from the local ordinances in those counties.


Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, was the point person arguing in favor of the bill during senate debate.

Feenstra and the rest of the Senate Republicans last (Monday) night passed the same bill on this subject that House Republicans endorsed earlier this month. The legislation now goes to the governor. Branstad has said he supports the “uniformity” of a statewide minimum wage, but he also signaled again on Monday that he’d like legislators to consider raising the state’s minimum wage by a “modest” amount.