Minnesota

The Minneapolis City Council signed off on funding plans for a new $975 million Minnesota Viking stadium downtown. The 7-6 vote came one day after a council committee advanced the financing package by the same vote.

CHICAGO — In a narrow vote, Minneapolis City Council members gave preliminary approval to a plan to use existing sales and hospitality taxes to fund the city’s $150 million share of a new $975 million stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday signed legislation providing public funding for a new $975 million stadium for the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Women in Public Finance will host its first annual meeting and conference on Thursday.

CHICAGO — The Mayo Clinic took retail orders Tuesday on $200 million of revenue bonds and will open the sale to institutional buyers Wednesday as it finances various capital projects, including a new proton beam therapy center at its flagship campus in Rochester, Minn.

Minnesota House Republicans, who hold a majority, last week released a scaled-down version of Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed capital budget known as the bonding bill package.

Moody’s Investors Service has taken the positive outlook off of St. Paul’s Aa1 rating ahead of the city’s sale later this month of $16 million of new-money general obligation debt.

Advancing a project long in the works, President Obama signed legislation last week allowing for construction of the St. Croix River bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin by exempting the project from federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act restrictions.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation released a revised cost estimate of $626 million on building the St. Croix River Crossing bridge project.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton unveiled plans for a new $975 million Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis that relies on a team contribution and local and state funds.

CHICAGO — With its economy on the mend, Minnesota now expects to collect an additional $323 million in its current two-year budget cycle based on its annual February revenue forecast.

CHICAGO — The St. Paul Port Authority is set to issue a tender invitation in April to holders of the remaining $51.7 million of defaulted industrial revenue bonds as agreed to under a class action settlement aimed at resolving five-year-old litigation over the troubled 876 Bond Fund.

CHICAGO — The Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic plans to enter the market this spring to borrow roughly $200 million of new money for projects as part of the clinic's plans to spend $700 million annually on capital improvements over the next five years.

Ramsey County last week released a revised plan for a new Minnesota Vikings professional football stadium that relies on parking revenue, naming rights, an admission fee and hospitality taxes to cover its $300 million share of the $1.1 billion price tag.

Moody’s Investors Service has stripped Le Center, Minn., of its investment-grade rating and warned of further negative action due to the city’s reliance on cash-flow borrowing to cover a February debt-service payment and its inability to repay a loan that came due in December.

Local governments in Minnesota had $410 million of outstanding general obligation bond debt in 2010 related to tax-increment financing districts, according to a new analysis compiled by state auditor Rebecca Otto’s office.

Minnesota’s not-for-profit hospitals provided 27% more charity care in 2010 than in 2009, according to the community benefits report released last week by the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton proposed $775 million of general obligation borrowing to support a $1.5 billion capital plan with an emphasis on projects that spur economic development and improve public safety while creating more than 20,000 jobs.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton last week announced the creation of an advisory task force charged with coming up with ideas to raise revenue for road, highway and bridge projects.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton set a deadline of Thursday for Minneapolis and Ramsey County to submit proposals for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium that rely on a mix of local, state and team financing.