Over the past year, a record number of states and cities have taken action to raise the minimum wage. These long-overdue wage increases have won support in both "red" and "blue" parts of the country, and have passed with the shared backing of workers and businesses alike.

In fact, a virtual consensus exists today in support of raising the minimum wage, which would not be possible if, as Mr. Romeo suggests, voters were simply responding to an "urban myth" about the challenges facing low-wage workers. To the contrary, it's a testament to just how clear that facts have become that workers, businesses, and voters across the country now agree that raising the minimum wage is a top-tier priority for boosting the economy.

It's important to look at the whole picture when considering the impact of raising the minimum wage. While it's true that those earning exactly $7.25 per hour tend to be younger, increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would raise pay for 28 million workers earning between $7.25 and $10.10 (and likely some earning just over $10.10, as employers adjust their pay scales upward).

U.S. Census Bureau data confirm the following facts about workers who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour:

• 88 percent are adults over the age of twenty - not teenagers, as many opponents of raising the minimum wage suggest;
• The average worker contributes nearly half of his or her family's entire income, meaning that those who would benefit from raising the minimum wage are not working for side-money but in fact are breadwinners their households;
• Over 14 million children - nearly one out of every five children in the U.S. - have at least one parent who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

Indeed, it's precisely because so many workers and their families now rely on low-wage jobs to make ends meet that growing numbers of small business owners - including those in the restaurant industry -have started to support raising the minimum wage. After all, when workers do not earn enough to afford the basics, consumer spending plummets, draining the economy of the demand it needs to grow.

A poll released by Small Business Majority in March of this year found that 57 percent of small business owners support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, and that 52 percent of small business owners agree that increasing the minimum wage would boost consumer demand, helping them grow and hire.

The facts are clear: raising the minimum wage is a win-win for workers and businesses alike - it's those who continue to oppose raising the minimum wage that have rested their case on a myth.

From Aftan Romanczak:
Unfortunately, the public won't realize what they have approved in wage hikes until they see the price inflation on menus because operators will not absorb the cost increase. They also don't realize that if the minimum wage is $15.00, every employee above that rate must be moved up incrementally.

From "Jeff":
You should all be ashamed of yourselves. The government is involved because you are too greedy to pay a living wage. I hope fast food prices skyrocket and you all go broke.

From Tim Borden:
Be careful what you wish for, consumers!

From "Roccobiale":
If the public votes in favor of these wage hikes, what you will see is restaurants do either or both of the following: Replace servers with tablets, or add a service fee to the check ( replacing the tip) and the restaurant controls the fee and distributes the monies as they see fit. Restaurants can't pay servers $15 and have them make $ 200 a night while the back of the house gets paid way less. [It] can't happen.

From "Roccobiale":
Putting the minimum wage to a vote is like asking the foxes if they want to the door to the chicken coop left open. Why is government involved in the business of setting wages for private industry?

5001 Tremont Ave. and 1515 E. Kimberly Road
Total Investment: $2.7 million
Total Public Investment:$30,000 IEDC High Quality Jobs Program
Jobs Created: 11-15 (Grace) 3-5 (Letter2Word)
Status: Expansion in progress

Philip Allen is a serial entrepreneur who grew Grace Engineered Products Inc. from a virtual one-man operation into a global manufacturer of electrical safety devices employing 25 here in Davenport. Now, he plans to not only expand that business and add up to 15 new employees, but is helping nurture a start-up called Letter2Word.

Grace is a worldwide leader in electrical safety products, especially the GracePort panel interface connectors, which allow users to either service an electrical cabinet without opening its panels or at least determine whether it is safe to open from the outside. Allen pioneered the application of Safeside voltage indicators into lock-out, tag-out procedures, which help improve worker safety while working on electrical equipment. Customers of this Davenport-based company include such giants as Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble and Kimberly Clark.

The company started in 1993, when Allen and some associates were working on a friction welder retrofit project at John Deere. Work was needed on a relatively dangerous machine with an interface in the front and an electrical panel with a 250 horsepower drive and a 400 amp main feed  inconveniently located at the rear. The only way to access the machine for maintenance was to open the doors, but the maintenance supervisor understood this caused a potential hazard.

"The supervisor insisted they keep the door closed," said Allen. "The end result was the panel interface connector, which would become an industry standard."

Now, the company sells all over the world.

"We just got an order for 40 units from Italy and another large order for Australia." About 20 percent of the company's product is exported, about half of it to Canada. This growth, both internationally and domestically, drove the decision to expand. Allen has purchased a building at 1515 E. Kimberly Road, which will house a mix of expanded Grace operations as well as the new and growing Letter2Word operations. The Iowa Economic Development Association board awarded the company $30,000 in direct financial assistance and tax benefits through its High Quality Jobs Program, due to the increase in employment that will result from the expansion.

Grace Engineered Product's unique process - Allen holds several U.S. and international patents for thru-panel electrical safety devices - allow it to mass produce customized products.

"We can get a specific order in one day, even with a specialized logo, and have it out the door the following day in most cases," Allen said.

The 15 or so new employees he hopes to add later this fall will come into a workplace that values employee engagement. It's a pet-friendly office, and several dogs can be seen wandering around at any given time. There is a large, warmly decorated break room and the factory floor and inventory bay are bright, clean and neat. To qualify for the IEDC incentives, starting wages start at $17.47 an hour and include full health benefits.

Allen said he chose to expand in Davenport both because of convenience and because of its outstanding workforce.

"We have good, hardworking people who show up on time, do their jobs and don't quit," he said. "The city was also very responsive and helped us work with the state."

Another reason space was getting tight was due to the growth of Letter2Word, a startup home and business design and decor company co-founded by Allen's wife Jane, her friend Sally Dailey and Dailey's daughter Shannon Evans. The company creates  hand-painted words and phrases that can be hung indoors or outdoors to share unique messages. The letters are created on the same precision cutting machines that Grace uses for its products, making the businesses perfect for co-existing.

Sally said the company has already secured several large accounts, and will need to add 3 to 5 new employees at the new location on Kimberly Avenue to meet the demand for product delivered this spring.

"We have just had such a great working relationship with Phil and his staff," she said. "He calls it cross-pollination of  business and it really seems to work."

Allen said he is an entrepreneur at heart who loves innovation, so stand by for more business ventures in Davenport going forward.

A very old building in the heart of downtown Davenport will soon be the home of two very modern companies.

Terrostar and Medix Dental - which do online marketing and IT and technology support for the dental industry, respectively - are moving into the former Schneff Jeweler s and First Trust and Savings Building at the corner of Third and Brady streets. Tom Terronez, who owns both companies, says he hopes to have the 20-plus member staff moved into the renovated third floor of the nearly century old building by the end of 2014.

"A lot of stuff is happening in downtown Davenport, and being a tech-based business, we wanted something that fits our personality," he said. "We love the historic building and we love being close to the action going on. My staff is very young and they want to be near the restaurants, bars and other things going on."

The companies are currently housed on a couple different floors in their Bettendorf building on Utica Ridge Road, and Terronez plans to add five new employees in the current year. Being out of room, and wanting to consolidate operations, are another reason for the move, he said.

There is quite a bit of work to do to convert the former administration offices of Palmer College of Chiropractic into a tech-savvy, open design workspace. Although the high ceilings and bright windows remain, pretty much everything else will be updated and renovated, Terronez said.

The building's owner - TR Holdings - has plans to create second floor apartments and first floor retail and loft space - but there is not a firm construction timeline at this point, said a company spokesman. Work will also include some facade cleanup on the building that was erected in 1918.

Terronez said his project should fit in nicely with recently announced plans Eastern Iowa Community College's new "urban campus" in the renovated bank buildings across 3rd Street. He hopes to bring in interns from both the college and from the Davenport School District's Creative Arts Academy.

"The long-term vision is to have downtown Davenport be a tech and education corridor," he said.

Davenport, IA September
12 or 13, 2014 – Real Talk Training (RTT) is a one day seminar training leaders to use professional coaching techniques to transform their everyday communications. RTT is an interactive learning experience using demonstration, practice and constructive feedback to equip leaders to be more effective communicators. This training has been offered globally to churches, major corporations and nonprofit organizations with outstanding results. Train under professional coaches to learn how to take your relationships to the next level through REAL communication. Don't miss this opportunity to unlock sustainable change in your relationships through REAL conversation! You will learn to:
? Avoid the number one killer of authentic communication
? Jumpstart a significant conversation with anyone
? Listen for heartlevel meaning
? Ask questions to open others up
? Solve problems permanently by not giving advice
? Get a response instead of a reaction

Presented by Kate McGovern is a Certified Growth Coach and Real Talk Presenter. Kate is passionate about restoring believers to a place of freedom as a children of God through physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. When she is not coaching, Kate is hosting a TBN news show, leading women's Bible studies and prayer groups, tending her garden, travelling or spending time with her husband Tom and their four children (and spouses!) and nine grandchildren.

Jennie Turton is a Certified Coach Trainer, Certified Professional Coach and Real Talk Presenter. Jennie is committed to seeing herself and the body of Christ live the abundant lives promised by God. When she is not training coaches or coaching the coaches she trains, Jennie is visiting her large extended family, travelling internationally, ballroom dancing or enjoying the outdoors with her husband Valentin.

Event details ?
What: Real Talk Training
? When: Friday, September 12 or Saturday, September 13, 2014 9am4pm
(Coffee and snacks will be
provided. Participants will be dismissed for lunch.)
? Where: Quad Cities Prayer Center, 320 West Kimberly Rd., Davenport, Iowa 52807 (in North Park Mall
next to Sears)
? Who: Age 15 and up
? Cost: $45/person
? Registration: Online at: https://christianlifecoachnow.com/davenport/
? Contact: Kate McGovern: (309) 2368718
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