The (Almost) Daily Brief

School Building Bonds Carry $434.8 Million Statewide

By Megan Dayton · 11/4/2026

BIZ  Five-year capital plan at Xcel Energy runs 17 percent above the $60 billion plan it replaces. Xcel Energy unveiled the $70 billion plan on Oct. 29 on its third-quarter earnings call. It calls for 9.2 gigawatts of renewable generation at $21.7 billion, 2.3 gigawatts of energy storage, 3.3 gigawatts of natural gas generation, 2,400 miles of new transmission, and $4 billion for wildfire mitigation. Data center projects already under contract take $7 billion. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Bob Frenzel said the company could spend $10 billion beyond the plan on pending requests for proposals, high-voltage transmission, and infrastructure to serve 4 gigawatts of data centers it expects to contract before the end of 2027. Chief Financial Officer Brian Van Abel said Xcel will take on $26 billion in debt and issue $8 billion in equity to finance it. Third-quarter net income rose to $960 million from $524 million a year earlier.

Source: Utility Dive, Oct. 30

POLICY  Route permits for a 345-kilovolt transmission line and a pipeline reroute reach a vote on Nov. 5. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission meets at 10am. Xcel Energy and Echo Zone LLC, a subsidiary of Google LLC, seek a permit for the Skyway 345-kilovolt Transmission Line Project, docket E002/TL-26-135, a double-circuit line in Goodhue County running from new substations east of U.S. Highway 52 to the existing North Rochester substation, with an expansion of that substation. The commission will also decide whether Magellan Pipeline Co., L.P. has met the requirements of a Feb. 6, 2025 order on its Pipestone Reroute Project in Pipestone County, and whether to permit route alternative RA-01 or RA-03. The agenda marks the transmission item disputed and the pipeline item complex.

Sources: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Nov. 5 agenda; Minnesota PUC, Energy Infrastructure Permitting (Skyway)

FUNDING  New police and fire facilities in Owatonna lost a $65 million bond question, 2,847 to 9,348. The question asked the city to issue general obligation bonds not to exceed $65,000,000 to acquire, construct and equip new public safety facilities for the police and fire departments. Mounds View passed $15,000,000 for city parks, sites and facilities, including renovations and safety and accessibility improvements at Silver View Park and Woodcrest Park, 2,907 to 2,675. It turned down $5,000,000 for indoor athletic courts and a walking track at the community center, 2,362 to 3,190. Preston passed $6,000,000 to finance a swimming pool, 406 to 218. Minnesota cities carried 69 questions on the ballot. Five of them failed.

Sources: Minnesota Secretary of State, ballot questions; Minnesota Secretary of State, 2026 general election results

WORKFORCE  Construction job openings climbed to 298,000 in September, 92,000 above a year earlier. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Nov. 3. Construction openings rose 36,000 from August, which the bureau puts at 262,000. The September 2025 level was 206,000. Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, said “nearly 200,000 construction workers quit their jobs in September,” the most in any month since the first half of 2023. Total separations rose 77,000 on the month, with quits up 46,000. Layoffs and discharges rose 25,000 from August and fell 56,000 from a year earlier. Hires rose 49,000 on the month and 19,000 on the year. Basu said the layoff rate remains lower than in any month on record before 2020.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Nov. 3; Engineering News-Record, Nov. 3

FUNDING  Washington County land and water conservation draws $40 million in renewed bond authority. Voters approved the Land and Water Legacy Program renewal with 73 percent in favor, 103,089 to 38,122, with all 84 precincts reporting. The county first authorized the program in 2006. The renewal runs 20 years. Bond money buys and improves land to protect water quality in rivers, lakes and streams, including the Saint Croix and Mississippi rivers, protect drinking water sources, preserve wetlands and woodlands, and purchase parkland. County officials plan to leverage the bonds against state, federal and nonprofit grants, and through partnerships with Belwin Conservancy, the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Minnesota Land Trust. The program and its partners have invested $53 million to protect 1,900 acres since 2006. The average county homeowner will pay $25 more per year.

Source: Mary Divine, Pioneer Press, Nov. 4

PROJECTS  A battery rated to 30 megawatts in Blue Earth County reaches a site permit vote on Nov. 13. Mankato Energy Center, LLC filed the application for the Mankato Battery Energy Storage System, docket IP7178/ESS-26-158. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will decide whether to grant the permit, what conditions to attach, and whether to adopt the applicant’s proposed findings of fact as amended by staff. The agenda marks the item undisputed and sets the meeting for 10am.

Source: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Nov. 13 agenda

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