Minnesota

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.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Becker Independent School District 726’s general obligation credit by two notches due to its declining fiscal position. The rating was cut to A2 from Aa3 on $23 million of debt.

CHICAGO - The University of Minnesota Regents on Wednesday will sell about $82 million of debt, in a mix of taxable general obligation bonds and tax-exempt special purpose revenue bonds backed by a state appropriation, to provide financing for facilities in its Biomedical Discovery District.

CHICAGO - Minnesota lost its final triple-A rating Friday when Standard & Poor's lowered its rating one notch to AA-plus as it chided the state for its continued reliance on one-time financial maneuvers to deal with its budget deficit.

CHICAGO - The St. Paul Port Authority and a group of investors holding a portion of $51.7 million of defaulted industrial revenue bonds will ask a judge Thursday to preliminarily approve a proposed class-action settlement that could end five years of litigation over the fate of the long-troubled 876 Bond Fund.

CHICAGO - Minnesota will take bids Tuesday on $920 million of general obligation debt in a long-planned deal that grew as refunding opportunities arose and lawmakers approved additional public works spending as part of the budget deal that ended a partial government shutdown.

Minnesota Housing Finance Agency deputy commissioner and chief financial officer Patricia Hippe is moving on to the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority next month.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak this week proposed a 2012 budget that cuts spending and jobs to hold the city’s property tax levy steady while increasing debt issuance for street improvements.

CHICAGO - Minnesota has selected Barclays Capital to lead a team of eight underwriting firms that will bring the state's first ever tobacco bond sale to market this fall.

Minnesota last week completed its sale of $60 million of revenue bonds to raise funds for the ongoing construction of a statewide communications system known as the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response system, or ARMER.

Standard & Poor's this week upgraded Allina Hospitals & Clinics rating one notch to AA-minus due to its strong operations.