Minnesota's minimum-wage rate changes Jan. 1, 2018

Minnesota's minimum-wage rates will be adjusted for inflation beginning Jan. 1, 2018, to $9.65 an hour for large employers and $7.87 an hour for other state minimum wages.

To help employers understand the requirements, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has updated its minimum-wage fact sheets at www.dli.mn.gov/MinWage and its minimum-wage workplace poster at www.dli.mn.gov/Posters.

An estimated 250,000 hourly workers in Minnesota will earn less than $9.65 an hour.

"In 2014, I worked with the Legislature to raise the minimum wage in Minnesota. Now that law demonstrates its full benefit as incomes rise for more than 250,000 Minnesotans and their families who are working hard to lift themselves out of poverty," said Governor Mark Dayton.

"Our state and nation were founded on the belief that hard work and opportunity should go hand in hand. Raising the minimum wage will help make this value a reality for thousands of Minnesotans, many of them people of color and women with children," said Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith. "This increase is good news and we have more work to do so that all Minnesotans can earn their way to economic security for themselves and their families."

"This is good news for Minnesota's lowest-wage workers and will help them earn more to provide for their families," said Ken Peterson, commissioner, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

As of Jan. 1, 2018:

·         Large employers must pay at least $9.65 an hour when the employer's annual gross revenues are $500,000 or more.

·         Small employers must pay at least $7.87 an hour when the employer's annual gross revenues are less than $500,000.

·         The training wage rate, $7.87 an hour, may be paid to employees younger than 20 years of age for the first 90 consecutive days of employment.

·         The youth wage rate, at least $7.87 an hour, may be paid to employees younger than 18 years of age.

Minnesota law requires employers to display some state-mandated posters in a location where employees can easily see them. The posters are available at no cost and need to be updated only when Minnesota law changes. DLI will translate the minimum-wage poster into Hmong, Somali and Spanish and add those posters online in November.

Danny Briere to speak at the UMC on Sept. 19

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Global business professional and entrepreneur Danny Briere will be a featured guest speaker on Tuesday, September 19, at noon in the Peterson Classroom, Heritage Hall, at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The event is free and open to the public. Parking in Lot G near the Kiehle Building is encouraged and no parking permits are required.

Briere, a serial entrepreneur, started his own firms and has been involved in advising over 200 organizations in the telecommunications and Internet space. His focus is on leading edge technologies and trends, with a special interest in alternative energy, social networking, social enterprise, education, and kids.

He has also been involved in helping drive entrepreneurship across universities, towns, regions, and states. Briere is CEO of the STEMIE Coalition, a national umbrella organization over dozens of invention and entrepreneurship education programs, and chairman of the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo Organizing Committee. These celebrate youth inventor and entrepreneurs across the U.S. and push invention and entrepreneurship programs into more K-12 schools in America.

Briere has lived and worked globally in more than three dozen countries, including long range stints in Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. he worked with Steve Case (Founder, AOL) and Scott Case (Founder, Priceline) under Obama’s Startup America Partnership to lead job growth and startup initiatives in Connecticut as the head of Startup Connecticut, and worked with the State of Connecticut and University of Connecticut on entrepreneurship and innovation programming, working with a number of non-profits, and helping advise and launch new companies in the mobile, social networking, and education spaces.

MDA Accepting 2015 Value Added Grant Applications

 ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has another round of funding available for projects to help farmers, producers and processors add value to their operations. A total of $1 million in funding has been made available through the Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation Program (AGRI), established by the legislature to advance Minnesota’s agricultural and renewable energy industries.

The MDA will distribute the funds through its AGRI Value Added Grant Program which aims to increase sales of Minnesota agricultural products by diversifying markets and by increasing market access and food safety. Specifically, these grants are intended to:

·     start, expand or update livestock product processing businesses;

·     purchase equipment to start, upgrade, or modernize value added businesses;

·     increase on-farm food safety, such as implementation of a food safety plan

·     increase farmers’ processing and aggregating capacity to sell to schools, hospitals or others

Applications with a meat processing, farm-to-school (or other institution) component, or are addressing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) or similar type of food safety plan will receive priority, but all value added proposals are encouraged to apply.

Equipment purchases or physical improvements are eligible for 25 percent of the total project cost up to a maximum grant award of $150,000. There is a minimum grant of $1,000. Equipment purchases and facility improvements must accomplish the goals of the grant and address improved efficiency, expansion, modernization, or profitability.

This round of applications must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. on March 6, 2015. Grant applications are submitted through our online system. The application is accessed through a link on the MDA Value Added website: www.mda.state.mn.us/valueadded.aspx. If you cannot apply using this process, you may submit an application by e-mail, mail, or by dropping it off at the MDA. An application must be received by MDA staff by the deadline to be included in this round of applications.