ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles were selling briskly for Polaris Industries Inc., leading a strong third quarter, company officials said Thursday, the Star Tribune reports. Demand was high for Polaris' all-terrain vehicles and Victory motorcycles in North America, and early demand for snowmobile sales surged where there's always plenty of snow – in Russia and Scandinavia.

Land O'Lakes Inc. posted net income of $18 million in the third-quarter, compared to a $30 million loss a year earlier, the Star Tribune reports. The Arden Hills-based co-op also reported a seven percent increase in sales.

Lower expenses and a 10 percent sales growth helped boost Fastenal Co's third-quarter net income by 13 percent, RTTNews reports. The Winona-based company, an industrial and construction supplier, posted a profit of $109.3 million, or 37 cents a share, compared to $96.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago.

Reduced operating expenses over the summer months helped boost Xcel Energy Inc.'s third-quarter earnings, Dow Jones News reports. The Minneapolis-based utility earned $398 million, up nearly 18 percent from $338.3 million a year earlier.

U.S. Bancorp, parent company of U.S. Bank, posted a record net income of $1.47 billion, a 16 percent jump from $1.27 billion a year-earlier, Bloomberg reports. “Earnings included continued strong mortgage-banking activity, which contributed to our growth in fee income, residential real estate loans and loans held for sale,” said CEO Richard Davis.

Capella Education, the parent company of the for-profit Capella University, says its third-quarter net income was $5.1 million, down nearly 50 percent compared to the $9.9 million it earned in the July-September quarter last year, the Associated Press reports. Even as total enrollment, revenue and net income fell, new student enrollment at the Minneapolis-based provider of online post-secondary education rose 10.5 percent compared to last year -- the first increase in nearly two years, Reuters reports.

Connecticut-based Northern Tier Energy, the new owner of the St. Paul Park refinery, reported quarterly operating income of $199.4 million, up $33.7 million from the quarter a year ago, according to a company news release. Northern Tier credits record productivity at the St. Paul Park refinery and favorable crude oil prices for the boost in profits.