AM.MN: Census organizers combat Bachmann statements in St. Cloud

Census organizers tried to shoot down fears raised by Rep. Michele Bachmann at a presentation to her constituents in St. Cloud. “It’s not some outside organization swooping in from out of town to do this,” said one (who, it must be said, is from Kansas City). “Not even the president can get access to private census data,” added another, from the Minnesota State Demographic Center.

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning…

STATE CAPITOL: No, you can’t have a tissue. The Minnesota Senate includes Kleenex in a 5-percent budget cut. [Associated Press]

STEARNS COUNTY: Here comes the judge… not. A district court judge’s retirement could mean losing that spot on the bench to another county; in any case, Gov. Pawlenty has been holding judgeships open for as long as nine months, for budget reasons. [St. Cloud Times]

WILLMAR: Take stimulus funds for public security cameras, panel recommends. Twenty-five years after 1984, video cameras might finally police Willmar’s streets.  [West Central Tribune]

BEMIDJI: Protesters rally to break our dependence on foreign oil. Members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe don’t want Enbridge Energy to pump petroleum from Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wis., across their land. [Bemidji Pioneer]

STATEWIDE: Another volunteer-of-the-year award. A study of volunteerism ranked the Twin Cities first among big metro areas and Minnesota third among states. [City Pages; Star Tribune]

PIERZ: Like butter. Margaret Anderson Kelliher now holds the title of Speaker of the House in Minnesota but 24 years ago, she revealed at a Minnesota Milk Producers Association farm tour that her title was dairy princess of Blue Earth County. [Brainerd Dispatch]