New rankings today from U.S. News and World Report rate the Mayo Clinic in Rochester as the top hospital in the country, prompting Gov. Mark Dayton to say:

“These rankings reaffirm what millions of patients and doctors around the world already know: Mayo Clinic offers the best medical care in the world. Thanks to the wise investment made by our State Legislature in the development of a Destination Medical Center, I am confident Mayo will continue its tradition of excellence into the future. Congratulations, Mayo!”

The U.S. News report shows Mayo getting the most No. 1 rankings in the nation, and getting rankings of No. 1 or No. 2  in 11 of the 12 specialties based on reputation, services and volumes, safety and clinical outcomes.

The governor has much political and personal history with Mayo: he supported the effort to put $585 million in public funds into the hospital’s 20-year, $6 billion expansion effort, dubbed Destination Medical Center.

And Dayton has had three procedures at Mayo in his three-plus years in office: hip surgery in February,  back surgery in Dec. 2012 and a platelet injection last October to help heal a torn hip muscle.