Wages are rising in Des Moines as employers try to lure potential workers — and it's especially true for low-training jobs.

Context: Locally, wages for restaurant hosts have risen to $11-12 an hour and cooks can earn between $18-20 an hour, Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association, said on Iowa Press.

• ABI president Mike Ralston said his group's members have also raised wages to stay competitive.

What's happening: Economists are still stumped by why some people don't want to reenter the labor market, but higher wages don't address larger pandemic-linked issues, like child care shortages.

• Our Axios Local colleagues in Charlotte, Tampa Bay and the Twin Cities all have reported on similar trends.
• Even McDonald's, the longtime brunt of wage jokes, announced it would raise starting wages from $11 to $17 at its company-owned restaurants, though they represent only 5% of its locations.
• John Deere, a popular local employer that offers competitive wages, could only fill 50 of its 300 recent job openings, according to Peter Orazem, an economics professor at Iowa State.

But it could come at a cost to consumers, who may bear the burden of those new deferred costs, said Orazem.

• And they could face the double whammy of enduring higher prices for goods if inflation keeps creeping up, he added.

Yes, but: That temporary inflation may be the nudge that moves our worker shortage into equilibrium.

The bottom line: At least for now, "expect to pay more at McDonald's," Orazem said.

Des Moines will only open two of its four splash pools next weekend because of a lack of attendants, Jennifer Fletcher, a parks spokesperson told Axios.

• The top pay for many of the city’s wading pool attendant positions is $10.13 an hour.
• The city’s five wading pools will be rotationally closed when the season starts due to staffing — which took place last year, too.

Polk County supervisors agreed last week to increase election worker and seasonal employee pay to at least $15 an hour in a series of steps over the next two years.

• It affects around 1,000 people who work election nights. Many of them currently make $10 an hour.
• About 50 summer or seasonal employees will also see increases.

The big picture: The extra costs to Polk County are anticipated to be $80,611 for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

What's next: Supervisor Matt McCoy has proposed that the county sever its ties with private contractors who fail to pay $15 an hour.

• That part of the plan was not acted on last week, as supervisors said it could affect work with nonprofits that assist with food and shelter distributions.
• The county continues to study wages and may make further adjustments in coming months.

The life of a KCCI weekend morning anchor isn't always glamorous — especially when you have to wake up when most people are asleep.

• "I would be lying if I said I get up like a princess," she said.
• But Tisia Muzinga credits her 90s hip-hop playlist, 16 alarms and fun coworkers as her inspiration for getting up and starting her day.

We chatted with Muzinga to learn how she gets her day going.

Wake-up time: 12am. She'll pop in some Tupac, Lauryn Hill, Beyonce or, lately, Megan Thee Stallion and "dance it out."

• "I watch Grey's Anatomy, I'm huge on that, and like, if you know the show, you know that Meredith and Cristina, they dance it out. That's exactly what I do," Muzinga said.
• And with a wake-up time like that, she's going to bed at 6pm at the latest.

Breakfast: She drinks a glass of water before reaching for morning coffee and typically eats after the morning newscast is over.

• "I try to drink water because sometimes when you're hungry, you're really thirsty," Muzinga said.

What she's reading/watching: She catches up on national news from CBS and ABC in the morning.

• "I also watch a lot of CNN. Anyone who knows me or anyone who comes to my house knows CNN is on. It's ridiculous," she said.

It’s been taking weeks to transfer vehicle titles in Polk County.

• Good news: That’s expected to improve in two weeks when the Polk County Administration Building reopens.

Why it matters: Failure to transfer vehicle titles can result in penalties.

• A new owner generally has 30 days to present the title to county treasurers so it can be issued in their name.

Flashback: Limited in-person appointments opened for title transfers last year, an exception to pandemic restrictions because of the complicated nature of the document transactions.

• Lots of other county services remained virtual.

What to expect: There’s a big backlog. We checked yesterday and the next available appointment was June 10.

• Treasurer staffers are working six days a week to catch up but remain in a jam due to restrictions and high demand, Treasurer Mary Wells told supervisors last week.
• Reopening the county administration building and resuming in-person appointments would help resolve the problem, she added.
• June 1 is the target date to reopen, Polk County Chairwoman Angela Connolly told Jason yesterday.

A spring smile: DSM resident Doug Lambert captured these red fox kits playing in Polk County last week.