Minnesota

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.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded to A2 from A1 its rating on Maplewood’s multifamily housing revenue bonds for the Maple Ridge Apartments project, following a review of projected cash flows. The action affects $3 million of debt issued in 1996.

Low borrowing rates, high unemployment in the construction trades, and an expiring lease at its current home give urgency to the Minnesota Vikings' desire for a new home, team officials told lawmakers at a Minnesota Senate committee hearing this week.

CHICAGO — Minnesota now expects an $876 million surplus in its current two-year budget, news welcomed by lawmakers five months after an impasse over how to fully erase $5 billion in red ink that partially shut down the state government for 20 days.

The 20-day partial shutdown of Minnesota state government that occurred in July as a result of a budget stalemate had little impact on state finances, according to a report released last week.

CHICAGO - With a deal for a new partially bond-financed Vikings football stadium stalled over site and public-funding issues, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton this week laid out a revised game plan he hopes will lead to a vote this year on a stadium package.

Minnesota aims to cast off headline risks tied to the tobacco sector next week when it sells $787.6 million of tobacco bonds by using a conservative structure that limits final maturities and ensures bondholders are paid even if cigarette consumption dips far more annually than expected.

CHICAGO - Triple-A rated Hennepin County, the richest county in Minnesota, will take competitive bids Tuesday on $60 million of new-money general obligation bonds in its first borrowing of the year.

Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook to positive from stable on Minnesota’s HealthPartners Inc.’s A3 rating in recognition of its improved operating performance.

Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Hazelden Foundation’s A3 rating ahead of its upcoming $20 million sale of fixed-rate debt to finance various projects that will raise the prominent Minnesota-based treatment center’s debt load by 70%.

CHICAGO - The Minnesota Vikings-backed proposal to build a $1.1 billion publicly subsidized stadium in Ramsey County relies on an overly ambitious schedule, leaves the county on the hook for potential cost overruns, and could impair its ability to finance other public projects, according to a state-commissioned report.