Business Notebook: State sets higher minimum wage rate for 2015

Missouri's minimum wage starting Jan. 1 will be set at $7.65 per hour, according to a news release from the state labor department.

All businesses except for retail and service businesses with annual gross sales of less than $500,000 are required to pay at least that amount per hour to employees.

The state rate in 2014 is $7.50 per hour. The rate is calculated annually and based on the cost of living as measured by the previous year's Consumer Price Index.

Employees that receive tips must also be paid a total compensation of at least $7.65 an hour, according to the department.

Entrepreneurship Week starts today

Southeast Missouri State University will participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week events starting today. The week, which encourages entrepreneurship-related events worldwide, is sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Missouri, not-for-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurial education.

As part of the week's events, an interactive symposium open to the public is planned, according to a news release from Southeast.

"Perspectives on Creativity and Innovation," set for noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Glenn Auditorium at Dempster Hall, will focus on "discovering how individuals can benefit from exploring approaches to the creative process from multiple disciplines," according to the release.

Presenters include Southeast faculty members Wendy Cooper, assistant professor of commercial photography; Erin Fluegge Woolf, associate professor of management; and Chris Wubbena, professor of art.

Hospital staff trains to treat dementia

Two members of Perry County Memorial Hospital's staff, Janice Lundy and Debbie Hayden, recently traveled to London, where they received training in cognitive stimulation therapy from its developers at the University College London. The therapy, according to a news release from the hospital, is a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate dementia.

Lundy and Hayden also became credentialed as trainers for the therapy in a selective program, according to the release. There is only one other credentialed trainer in the United States. The hospital plans to sign a contract with the London school so staff can begin training professionals in the therapy next year.

Business breakfast event planned

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly business breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Friday at Creative Edge at 160 Enterprise Drive in Jackson.

The topic of the meeting is annual elections and the breakfast is sponsored by Chick-fil-A.

Business Roundup

• Dille & Traxel, a full-service architectural firm, has opened an office at 266 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau. The company is based in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and offers services in Southeast Missouri, northeast Arkansas and Tennessee, according to a news release from Tom Kelsey, the commercial broker who handled the lease transaction for the location. The firm has worked on schools, libraries, banks, auditoriums, churches, office and retail buildings, health-care facilities and industrial projects as well as residential structures. The firm is owned by Brett P. Dille and Benjamin Traxel, who are the principal architects.
• Family Dollar, a new general merchandise store at 736 William St. in Cape Girardeau, opens Thursday, according to signs posted at the store.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632