Minimum Wage Measure Passes State Muster But Not Popular Locally

As a state, South Dakotan’s voted to increase the minimum wage to eight-dollars 50-cents an hour. In and around the Huron area, voters we’re not so convinced that raising the minimum wage was the right thing to do. Voters in Beadle County said YES to the wage hike, 53-percent to 47-percent against. Other counties where voters said YES to increasing the minimum wage were Kingsbury County at 51-percent, Spink County at 60-percent and Buffalo County a whopping 72-percent. In six area counties, voters did not favor an increase in entry level wages. Leading the NO on Initiated Measure 18 charge was Sanborn County where 62-percent of voters opposed increasing the minimum wage. They were followed by Miner and Jerauld County at 52-percent, Hyde County at 51-percent and Clark and Hand County at just over 50-percent of the vote. Statewide, some 114-thousand 760 votes favored a wage bump for 53-percent approval. Ninety-seven-thousand 838 no votes were cast for 46-percent of the vote.