VYM Vanguard High Dividend Yield

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Delaware Investments Minnesota Municipal Income Fund, Inc. (AMEX:VMN) and Delaware Investments Minnesota Municipal Income Fund III, Inc. (AMEX:VYM) (each, a "Fund") today announced its decision to approve a proposal providing for the reorganization of each Fund into the Delaware Investments Minnesota Municipal Income Fund II, Inc. (AMEX:VMM) (the "MN Muni Income Fund"), a closed-end fund. Under the terms of the proposed reorganization, the MN Muni Income Fund would acquire substantially all of the assets of each Fund in exchange for shares of the MN Muni Income Fund; those shares of the MN Muni Income Fund would then be distributed pro rata to each Fund's shareholders, and each Fund would subsequently be liquidated and dissolved. These transactions, which are expected to be tax-free, are subject to the approval of each Fund's shareholders, including each Fund's preferred shareholders, voting as a separate class, as well as the approval of shareholders of the MN Muni Income Fund. The shareholders of the MN Muni Income Fund must also approve the issuance of shares to the shareholders of the Funds. If approved by shareholders of each Fund, common shares will be exchanged based on the respective net asset values of each Fund's common stock and MN Muni Income Fund's common stock, and holders of each Fund's preferred shares will receive an equal number of a corresponding series of preferred shares of the MN Muni Income Fund having the same liquidation preference as the Funds' preferred shares. Each Fund's Board of Directors plans to submit the proposed Reorganizations to each Fund's shareholders at a special meeting, currently expected to take place in December 2005. The MN Muni Income Fund's Board of Directors plans to submit the proposed acquisition for shareholder approval at a special meeting that is expected to occur on the same date. Any solicitation of proxies by each Fund and the MN Muni Income Fund in connection with this shareholder meeting will be made only pursuant to proxy materials filed under the federal securities laws. It is anticipated that these proxy materials will be distributed to each Fund's and the MN Muni Income Fund's shareholders at the end of October 2005. There can be no assurance that the shareholders of each Fund and MN Muni Income Fund will vote in favor of the proposals. Each Fund is a closed-end fund managed by Delaware Management Company. Delaware Management Company is a series of Delaware Management Business Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation. The investment objective of each Fund is to provide current income exempt from both regular federal income tax and Minnesota personal income tax, consistent with the preservation of capital. Each Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade, tax exempt municipal obligations. In addition, each Fund utilizes leveraging techniques in an attempt to obtain a higher return for each Fund. As of June 30, 2005, the total assets of VMN and VYM (including leverage attributable to the preferred shares) were approximately $59.2 million and $41.6 million, respectively. The MN Muni Income Fund is a closed-end fund managed by Delaware Management Company. The MN Muni Income Fund's investment objective is to provide current income exempt from both regular federal income tax and Minnesota personal income tax, consistent with the preservation of capital. The MN Muni Income Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade, tax exempt municipal obligations. In addition, the MN Muni Income Fund utilizes leveraging techniques in an attempt to obtain a higher return. As of June 30, 2005, the total assets of the MN Muni Income Fund (including leverage attributable to the preferred shares) were approximately $171.6 million. In connection with the proposed transactions, each Fund and MN Muni Income Fund intend to file relevant materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including a combined proxy statement for each Fund and a Form N-14 registration statement for the MN Muni Income Fund that will contain a prospectus. Because those documents will contain important information, each Fund's and MN Muni Income Fund's shareholders are urged to read them carefully when they become available. When filed with the SEC, those documents will be available free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov/. Each Fund's and MN Muni Income Fund's shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of these documents and other transaction-related documents, when available, by calling Delaware Investments toll-free at 800 523-1918. The foregoing is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of any fund, nor is it a solicitation of any proxy. About Delaware Investments: Delaware Investments, an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group, is a Philadelphia-based diversified asset management firm with more than $105 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2005. Through a broad range of managed accounts and portfolios, mutual funds, retirement plan services, sub-advised funds, college savings plans and other investment products, Delaware Investments provides investment services to individual investors and to institutional investors such as private and public pension funds, foundations, and endowment funds. Delaware Investments is the marketing name for Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information on Delaware Investments, visit the company at http://www.delawareinvestments.com/. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. For more information on Lincoln Financial Group, visit http://www.lfg.com/. DATASOURCE: Delaware Investments CONTACT: Christina Ward, Corporate Communications of Delaware Investments, +1-215-255-1388, ; or Priscilla Brown, Investor Relations of Lincoln Financial Group, +1-215-448-1422 Web site: http://www.delawareinvestments.com/ http://www.lfg.com/

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