BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota-based Pawn America has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the company's president says the move is a reorganization and not a shutdown.

The Burnsville company operates 23 pawnshops in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (http://strib.mn/2pBdh3p ) the company owes between $10 million and $50 million to fewer than 1,000 creditors.

Pawn America President and founder Brad Rixmann in a message to employees said he plans to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy stronger.

The retail chain doesn't yet have a restructuring plan in place, so it has no details on what stores might close or if any of the chain's 450 employees will be cut.