Exhibit 3


CONTACT:  John Danielson           Wendy Raway              David Griebel
          Investor Relations       Media Relations          Dir. of Marketing
          First Bank System        First Bank System        FirsTier Financial
          (612)973-2261            (612)973-2429            (402)348-6465

DATE:     For Immediate Release  August 7, 1995

          FIRST BANK SYSTEM AND FIRSTIER FINANCIAL, INC.
          SIGN PURCHASE AGREEMENT


(Minneapolis) - First Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:FBS) today announced that it had
agreed to acquire Omaha-based FirsTier Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRST).  As of
June 30, 1995 FirsTier had approximately $3.6 billion in assets, $2.8 billion in
deposits and operated 63 offices in Nebraska and Iowa.

     Subject to the completion of due diligence and shareholder and regulatory
approvals, FBS will exchange .8829 shares of First Bank System common stock for
each common share of FirsTier, resulting in a per share price of $38.00.  The
aggregate purchase price is approximately $700 million.  In addition, FirsTier
has issued FBS a warrant granting it the option to purchase up to 19.9% of the
outstanding shares of FirsTier common stock under certain circumstances.  FBS
also announced that it intends to repurchase existing shares of its common stock
approximately equal to one half of the number of shares to be issued, or
approximately 8.3 million shares, and to continue its previously announced share
buy back programs.  FBS said it expects the acquisition to be accretive to
earnings in the first year of operation.

     John F. Grundhofer, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
First Bank System said, "FirsTier is the premier banking organization in
Nebraska.  Combining our existing presence and FirsTier's with that of our other
pending acquisitions in the state, we will rank first in market share in Lincoln
and second in Omaha."  In January 1995, FBS acquired Metropolitan Financial
Corporation, which had 16 branches and $1.2 billion in deposits in Nebraska and
Iowa.  FBS announced in June of this year that it would acquire First Bank of
Omaha and Southwest Bank, which have deposits of approximately $200 million and
$174 million, respectively.  The combined banks will be the largest banking
concern in Nebraska.  "FirsTier is also an excellent fit with our strategic
priorities," Grundhofer continued.  "We both place a high priority on serving
small and middle market commercial businesses and have achieved SBA Preferred
Lender status.  In addition, we both have shareholder value, expense control and
asset quality as ongoing priorities.  Having this type of synergy between
organizations at the onset will create immediate benefits for customers and
shareholders."





Grundhofer said that since FBS will now have a major presence in Nebraska, that
as the company has a need to expand its operations, it would give full
consideration to doing so in Nebraska.

     The combined organizations also create an extensive network of 213 ATMs in
Nebraska and Iowa and further expand a presence in supermarket branches.
FirsTier has eight full service branches inside Bakers Supermarkets in Omaha and
two inside Super Saver Supermarkets in Lincoln,  First Bank of Omaha operates
four full service branches inside Hy-Vee Supermarkets in Omaha.  Combined, the
banks will have over 485,000 retail  customers and over 24,500 business
customers in the two states.

     David A. Rismiller, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of
FirsTier Financial said, "We are pleased to join First Bank System, the leading
banking organization in Minnesota and a major player in a region stretching from
Illinois to Wyoming.  Our customers will benefit from their major investment in
technology and innovative services including a broad array of mutual funds.
This purchase gives our shareholders an attractive price, at approximately 1.925
times book value as of June 30, and it gives shareholders ownership in a company
with an excellent track record in growing shareholder value."  Rismiller will be
the CEO and general manager of the combined Nebraska organization.  FirsTier
said that it expects to take an estimated one time, after tax restructuring
charge of $35 million prior to the close as a result of the acquisition.

     First Bank System is a regional bank holding company headquartered in
Minneapolis with assets of $33.5 billion.  The company provides complete
financial services to individuals and institutions through 8 banks, a savings
association and other financial services companies with 349 offices primarily in
Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.

     FirsTier Financial, Inc. is a regional bank holding company with $3.6
billion in assets as of June 30, 1995.  Common stock of FirsTier Financial is
traded on the Over-the-Counter Market and is quoted on the NASDAQ National
Market System with the ticker symbol FRST.