South Dakota

South Dakota’s Sanford Health is bringing $176 million of A-plus rated hospital bonds to market this week in a deal that will mark the final financing of the system’s largest construction project to date.

Standard & Poor's upgraded its rating on South Dakota to AAA, giving the state one of only a handful of prized top ratings.

Municipal bond borrowing by Midwestern issuers picked up steam last year, rising by 6.9% to $63.5 billion as issuers loosened the reins a bit on new money borrowing and refundings recorded double-digit gains thanks to favorable interest rates.

Midwestern voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of a handful of finance-related ballot questions and the leadership of eight states, including several where debate over fiscal pressures is taking center stage.

Borrowing by Midwest issuers slid 13.2% for the first half of 2014 but new-money issuance fueled by Chicago and Illinois deals helped boost new-money by 16.8%.

Standard & Poor's revised its outlook to positive from stable on South Dakota, putting the AA-plus rated state on track for a prized triple-A rating.

Moody's Investors Service has revised its outlook to positive from stable on Avera Health, one of South Dakota's largest health care providers, as the system comes to market this week with $59 million of bonds.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard last week signed into a law a bill authorizing the state's building authority to issue bonds to help finance a new $65 million football stadium at South Dakota State University.

Midwestern volume dwindled by 18.1 % in 2013 to $59.1 billion from nearly $72.2 billion a year earlier as rising interest rates sapped refunding opportunities and lackluster new-money issuance did little to offset the drop.

Rising interest rates and lagging economic growth sidelined borrowers in the Midwest where issuance dipped by 12% to $34 billion during the first half of 2013 compared to the same time last year.

Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and South Dakota-based Sanford Health have canceled discussions over a possible union due to mounting opposition in Minnesota.

South Dakota comes to market Thursday with $171 million of refunding tobacco bonds to finance education across the state amid ongoing uncertainty in the high-yield sector.

Refunding opportunities fueled a 36.3% surge in bond issuance among Midwestern borrowers last year as the steadfastly conservative region shied away from adding new debt in favor of shoring up balance sheets.

Moody's Investors Service placed tobacco settlement revenue bonds of issuers in 17 states and two territories under review with direction uncertain because of legal settlement announced in December. The action affects $20.5 billion of debt.

Moody’s last week upgraded to Aa3 from A1 its rating on Rapid City’s sales tax revenue bonds as the city prepares to come to market with the credit.

Sanford Health, in South Dakota, is bringing $130 million of bonds to market next week to finance an ambitious $1.5 billion capital plan that credit analyst warn could strain the system's otherwise-strong balance sheet.

South Dakota’s new fiscal 2013 budget should be positive for local school districts, which are in line to see a 2.3% per-pupil increase as well as a one-time financial increase, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

CHICAGO — Lawmakers in South Dakota, typically one of the first states to complete its budget, last Friday approved a $4 billion, all-funds fiscal 2013 budget that reflects the state's strengthening fiscal position.

Sioux Falls, S.D., is heading to market with a $119.2 million sales-tax-backed bond issue that marks the city's largest borrowing to date.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard has proposed a constitutional amendment to require a structurally balanced budget every year and prohibit the state from issuing debt to cover operating expenses.