Minnesota

CHICAGO — Top-rated Hennepin County, Minn., will competitively sell $128 million of general obligation debt today in a deal that will tap both the Build America Bond and recovery zone economic development bond programs.

CHICAGO — Minnesota has selected RBC Capital Markets — the winning bidder on a $635 million new-money sale last week — to lead its upcoming sale of at least $650 million of general obligation refunding bonds.

CHICAGO — Midwestern bond issuance leaped by 32.5% to $39.8 billion for the first six months of the year, due primarily to Illinois’ borrowing spree to finance its $31 billion capital program and its use of debt for budgetary relief.

CHICAGO — Top-rated Minnesota plans to enter the market twice this summer, beginning early next month with the competitive sale of $865 million of new-money general obligation bonds and then in September with the negotiated sale of between $500 million and $1 billion of refunding GOs.

CHICAGO — The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission will enter the market later this month with a nearly $150 million mostly new-money sale of senior-lien revenue bonds as it seeks to take advantage of the federal alternative minimum tax holiday.

CHICAGO — Minnesota-based law firm Briggs and Morgan PA, one of the state’s top bond counsels, has hired attorney Catherine ­Courtney.

CHICAGO — The Minnesota Nurses Association and 14 hospitals in the Twin Cities area reached an agreement late last week on a new contract, averting a threatened strike by 12,000 nurses that was set to start this week.

CHICAGO — As nonprofit hospitals in the Twin Cities brace for a threatened nurses’ strike, Moody’s Investors Service warned yesterday that a prolonged walkout could pressure some hospital ratings if already-thin operating margins are hurt by increased costs for temporary nurses and a drop in patient revenue.

CHICAGO — The St. Paul Port Authority will start anew in its efforts to resolve its faltering 876 Bond Fund in a way that benefits all bondholders. This follows a court decision earlier this month that formally killed its plan to liquidate the fund and distribute proceeds to investors holding the remaining $51 million of debt.

CHICAGO — Triple-A rated Minneapolis today will competitively sell $130 million of general obligation bonds to raise funds for routine capital projects and to refund debt for about 12% of net present-value savings.

CHICAGO — After working through the night to resolve differences, the Minnesota Legislature yesterday approved a budget agreement that cuts spending, including aid to local governments, and pushes off $1.8 billion owed to schools into the next budget cycle to address a $3 billion shortfall.

CHICAGO — Unwilling to accept a proposed income tax increase for the state’s top earners, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty moved quickly Tuesday to veto the budget-balancing plan rushed through the Legislature one day earlier by Democratic leaders.

CHICAGO — The Democratic leaders of the Minnesota Legislature advanced a plan yesterday that relies on a mix of cuts, delaying school aid payments, and more tax revenue from the state’s top earners to erase a looming $3 billion deficit.

The International Falls Economic Development Authority tomorrow will offer $11.5 million of taxable lease revenue bonds backed by a general obligation pledge of the federal government to finance construction of a new National Park Service headquarters.

CHICAGO — The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Gov. Tim Pawlenty exceeded his executive powers in using his unallotment authority to slash the fiscal 2010-11 budget sent to him by lawmakers last year, a finding that raises questions over the legality of $2.7 billion in spending cuts made by the governor.

CHICAGO — With time running out on the current legislative session, a group of Minnesota lawmakers yesterday unveiled a proposal for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings that relies on public funding supported by a series of new taxes to cover about two-thirds of the nearly $800 million price tag.

CHICAGO — Faced with declining state aid, Minnesota counties are relying more heavily on property taxes and spending more than they collect in revenue, leading to increased draw-downs on their unreserved balances, a state auditor’s report found.

CHICAGO — The Minnesota Public Facilities ­Authority today will take bids on $380 million of new-money and ­refunding state revolving fund bonds, including taxable Build America Bonds, to finance clean water and drinking water loans in a deal that will establish a new modernized indenture.

CHICAGO — Two rating agencies delivered good news to Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic this week in recognition of its fitter financial profile, including improved investment returns and revisions to its defined pension plan that lowered its liabilities.

Saying Minnesota has to live within its means, Gov. Tim Pawlenty Monday trimmed the $1 billion capital budget sent to him by lawmakers down to $680 million.