Wisconsin

Duluth-based St. Luke's affiliation with Aspirus Inc. has lifted the prospects for its speculative-grade bonds; S&P placed the hospital on CreditWatch positive.

With cyberattacks on the rise, issuers have had to keep fortifying their defenses against criminals targeting the public sector. 

Voters in the Milwaukee Public Schools District passed a referendum Tuesday that would raise property taxes to fund $252 million of additional spending.

Three Pillars Senior Living has already pre-sold 70% of the planned units that will support the bonds.

This spring brings a bevy of school referendums in the Midwest. With inflation and property tax fatigue, voters may be increasingly reluctant to say yes.

Despite several larger deals entering the primary, the vast amount of cash on hand has not allowed munis to cheapen amid UST volatility and ultra-rich ratios

Rural hospitals and clinics are closing in Wisconsin while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers battles the state's Republican legislature over Medicaid expansion.

Some public colleges in the Midwest are facing budgetary squeezes paired with programming directives from state legislators, a departure from trends elsewhere.

Larger deals, fewer issues: those were the overarching municipal bond sale trends, along with a surge in tax-exempt deals, across the Midwest in 2023.

A private university in Milwaukee will borrow $163.7 million through tax-exempt bonds to build new emergency response facilities for the state and county.

The SIFMA Swap Index fell to 3.24% Wednesday, down 50 basis points from 3.74% from the week prior, and 131 basis points from 4.55% it hit on Jan. 24 as swings continued in the VRDO market. Tax-exempt money market funds reversed course to see inflows of almost $4 billion.

Fitch Ratings recently downgraded Marshfield Clinic Health System, a nonprofit group of 11 hospitals in central Wisconsin, to BBB from BBB-plus.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have jointly received a $1.05 billion grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to replace the aging Blatnik Bridge.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $917 million.

The state of Wisconsin is embarking on a flurry of debt-related activity as the year begins, with a cash defeasance and three refunding deals on the table.

State bonds are a key part of the two-state plan to replace the aging Blatnik Bridge, but officials are also seeking more than $1 billion in federal grants.

A new deal with Microsoft may help fill the void left by the underperformance of a Wisconsin incentive deal to lure Foxconn to the village of Mount Pleasant.

Final responses are due by Dec. 8 from muni underwriters who want to be on Wisconsin sale syndicates.

The state reported a $7.07 billion budget balance and $1.8 billion in its rainy day fund.

The state in 2010 sold $1.5 billion of bonds backed by payments from a master settlement agreement with tobacco firms and used the proceeds to pay overdue bills.