St. Paul Receives AAA Rating From S&P

Standard & Poor's, one of two major national bond raters that measure the fiscal stability of cities, issued a AAA rating -- an improvement over the previous AA+ rating. The city has gone on a building spree, helping build a new hockey arena and a major office building for Lawson Software, among other projects. Critics said it was endangering its credit rating by taking on increasing levels of debt in helping to finance these projects.

This is the first time St. Paul has received AAA standing since Standard and Poor's began rating the city's loans in June 1976. Standard and Poor's says the upgrade reflects successful redevelopment efforts in downtown St. Paul, the city's controls on spending, maintenance of prudent reserves and moderate debt per resident. Downtown property values have more than doubled since 1994.