NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) June 14, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today it assigned its triple-'A' rating to Minnesota's $375 million GO bonds, reflecting the state's deep economy and moderate debt burden, with manageable future capital needs. The outlook is stable. "Although the state has also experienced an economic downturn along with the rest of the nation, it was late in experiencing the effects relative to the nation," said credit analyst James Wiemken. Minnesota's economic diversity enables the state to perform well; its unemployment rate remains fairly low at 4.5%. Employment and income data grew steadily through the 1990s, fueled by steady population growth. The state's strong economy since the mid 1990s resulted in strong revenue performance through 2000 compared
