Midwest

CHICAGO — Six months after a devastating tornado destroyed its competitor's facility, Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo., will come to market next week with $25 million of bonds, primarily to fund additional beds needed to meet a surge in demand for its services.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the Kenosha Unified School District's general obligation rating by one notch to A1 and warned of further action by assigning a negative outlook due to the Wisconsin district's fiscal strains.

Moody's Investors Service last week affirmed its Baa1 rating on Summa Health System in Ohio.

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.

A group opposed to Michigan's new emergency financial manager law for fiscally stressed municipalities said it is closing in on its goal of gathering enough signatures to suspend the law until it is voted on next November.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Hospital Sisters Services Inc.'s rating by one notch to A1 due to sizeable operating losses at the Springfield, Ill.-based system.

CHICAGO - Ohio has picked KPMG LLP as lead advisor for a proposal to privatize the Ohio Turnpike.

The Milwaukee County Board last week overrode many of County Executive Chris Abele’s vetoes in the $1.2 billion 2012 budget.

Proponents of a measure to increase South Dakota’s sales tax to fund K-12 and Medicaid said they have gathered more than twice the required signatures to put it on next year’s ballot.

Moody’s Investors Service placed Cleveland-based MetroHealth System on watch list for potential downgrade due to a decline in financial performance through the first nine months of fiscal 2011. The credit is rated A2.