Yvette Shields

Fighting insolvency, the Xenia Rural Water District of Iowa made a partial debt-service payment due last week on $83 million of water revenue bonds — with CIFG Assurance North America Inc. covering the remainder — as the struggling utility prepares to release a restructuring plan later this month.

The Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party's Mark Dayton officially became the governor-elect Wednesday after Republican challenger Tom Emmer conceded the race.

Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets LLC has hired James C. Johnson as its general counsel.

With an upgrade in hand, the University of Missouri System will enter the market Wednesday with up to $265 million of Build America Bonds to fund improvements at various campuses and its health care facilities.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Milwaukee County's AA-plus general obligation rating but the agency revised its outlook to negative from stable due to the county's budget struggles.

Iowa's revenue picture continues to improve, with the state's Revenue Estimating Conference now projecting that an additional $34.1 million will be collected in the current fiscal year over previous estimates and $85.5 million next year.

Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, last week questioned Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's recent $47 million extension of the state-funded "Put Illinois to Work" program with a deficit of up to $15 billion of looming and growing debt.

Moody's Investors Service said Monday it views Illinois' successful sale of $1.46 billion of tobacco bonds to pay down overdue bills as a credit positive even though the borrowing falls into the deficit financing category that rating analysts typically frown on.

Northern Trust has hired former Chicago Transit Authority CFO Dennis Anosike to co-lead the public funds group in its corporate and institutional services business unit.

Kansas City’s convention hotel steering committee met Monday to review proposals from two developers and four hotel operators as part of the city’s effort to advance construction of a new hotel to support its convention center.

Outgoing Gov. Tim Pawlenty last week named Steve Sviggum to serve as the state’s top fiscal officer, replacing Tom Hanson as commissioner of the Minnesota Management and Budget office in the last days of the Republican governor’s administration.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded its rating on North Memorial Health Care and Maple Grove Hospital to Baa1 from A3 and warned of further action by assigning a negative outlook due to the system’s fiscal struggles in fiscal 2010 and uncertainty over whether improvements can be achieved in fiscal 2011.

CHICAGO — Two Midwestern joint-power agencies will enter a crowded field of borrowers this week with deals that include a mix of tax-exempt securities and taxable Build America Bonds to finance their share of $1 billion in cost overruns for the Prairie State Energy Campus.

CHICAGO — With headlines over its budget struggles and recent rating downgrades subsiding, Chicago plans this week to sell a good chunk of a $804 million new-money and refunding general obligation issue that was put on hold earlier this month.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Railsplitter Tobacco Settlement Authority yesterday received A-level ratings from Standard & Poor’s on its $1.46 billion issue of tax-exempt tobacco bonds set for next week.

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s A1 rating and revised its outlook to positive from stable ahead of a $140 million new-money and refunding sale to finance its share of transmission expansion projects.

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s A3 rating but revised its outlook to stable from positive ahead of a $100 million revenue bond sale slated for next week.

A Cook County Circuit Court judge earlier this month denied Chicago’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the legality of its $1.15 billion, 75-year lease of its parking meter system to Chicago Parking Meters LLC.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin’s budget deficit going into the next fiscal biennium ranges from $1.5 billion to $3 billion, depending on who is interpreting the figures.

CHICAGO — Minnesota’s Counties Transit Improvement Board last week advanced plans for a $110 million bond sale by Hennepin County that would mark the first borrowing repaid by a special quarter-cent sales tax imposed in 2008 on the five-county Twin Cities region to support transit.