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.

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.

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.

Medina-based Polaris Industries Inc. reported a record second quarter net income of $69.8 million or $0.98 per share, Wall Street Journal reports. The better-than-expected results were driven by double-digit sales growth in all types of vehicles, led by its on-road motorcycles.

Inver Grove Heights-based CHS Inc. -- the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States -- reported net income of $405 million thanks to strong energy performance. Revenue increased nearly 5 percent to hit $11 billion. The Wall Street Journal notes CHS reported its second-quarter profit dropped 60 percent.