Rallying to ‘Raise the Wage’

The sub-zero temperatures on Saturday, Dec. 7, did little to dampen the spirits of those who chose to spend a portion of the evening standing by the Big Chair on Pokegama Avenue in Grand Rapids with signs calling for a rise in minimum wage. The roughly dozen people who stood on the busy corner holding signs reading “Raise the Wage” didn’t seem to mind the unforgiving weather, instead simply focusing on their message.

But the main event was held a block away in Brewed Awakenings Coffee House. Organized by the Itasca Working Families Alliance and TakeAction Minnesota, attendees of the rally filled the café to hear Representative Rick Nolan speak about his views on minimum wage laws in this country, as well as from state representatives Tom Anzelc (D-Balsam), John Persell (D-Bemidji), Joe Radinovich (D-Crosby), and Jason Metsa (D-Virginia).

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