# City of Princeton *City in Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties, Minnesota* The City of Princeton is the municipal government of Princeton, a city in Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties, [[Minnesota]], where the Rum River is joined by its West Branch.[^1] The 2020 census counted 4,819 residents, and the 2022 estimate was 5,311; most residents live on the Mille Lacs County side.[^1] Princeton appears in the project's record through two at-issue items in its Sherburne package. Both items are drawn from the project's Sherburne fraud-nexus brief, which gives the [[Office of the State Auditor]] (auditor.state.mn.us) as its source.[^2][^3] According to the brief, the city kept an unrecorded lockbox of public funds dating to at least 1986. The brief also states that the State Auditor found $366.18 unaccounted for and questioned spending on Christmas parties and mini-refrigerators.[^3] The brief records that the arrangement was discovered in 2010, and that the matter ended with audit findings and recommendations and no prosecution.[^3] The brief also states that the Office of the State Auditor's index of roughly 130 special investigations since 1999 lists one Sherburne-area entity, the City of Princeton, in 2011.[^2] By the brief's account, a 2025 embezzlement in Clear Lake produced no State Auditor special investigation.[^2] The State Auditor's own report and index are not among this article's cited sources, so these facts are given as the brief states them.[^2][^3] ## Who The City of Princeton is the local government of a city spanning two counties.[^1] The brief identifies the Office of the State Auditor as the office that keeps the special-investigation index on which Princeton appears and that made the lockbox findings.[^2][^3] Wikipedia's list of people associated with Princeton includes Robert C. Dunn (1855–1918), a Minnesota [[state auditor]], and Kurt Daudt (born 1973), Speaker of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]].[^1] The list also includes Rod Grams (1948–2013), a U.S. senator from Minnesota.[^1] ## What The town's early economy depended on timber from the Rum River basin. Three sawmills operated in Princeton by 1867, although most logs floated past the town to mills in [[Minneapolis]].[^1] Clay deposits northeast of town supported a brickyard settlement called Brickton. At its height, its yards together turned out up to 20 million bricks a year.[^1] Wheat and later potato farming were also part of the local economy, along with starch production, dairying and distilling.[^1] According to the brief, the State Auditor examined an unrecorded municipal lockbox and found $366.18 unaccounted for. The same examination questioned purchases of Christmas parties and mini-refrigerators.[^3] ## When In the winter of 1855, five men laid out the town: Samuel Ross, Jame W. Gillian, Dorilus Morrison, John S. Prince and Richard Chute. Their plat was recorded on April 19, 1856.[^1] The three sawmills were built between 1856 and 1867. Brickton's yards operated from 1889 into the late 1920s.[^1] The brief dates the city's unrecorded lockbox to at least 1986 and its discovery to 2010, a span of twenty-four years.[^3] It dates Princeton's entry on the State Auditor's special-investigation index to 2011, and the Clear Lake embezzlement to 2025.[^2] ## Where The city sits on the southern edge of Mille Lacs County and reaches into the northeastern corner of Sherburne County. Its downtown is roughly three-quarters of a mile north of the county line.[^1] Princeton is about 50 miles (80 km) north of Minneapolis and 30 miles (48 km) east of [[St. Cloud]]. The city lies at the crossing of U.S. Highway 169 and Minnesota State Highway 95.[^1] Highway 169 runs on a four-lane bypass along the west side of the city. It leads 14 miles north to Milaca and 19 miles south to [[Elk River]], the seats of Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties.[^1] Highway 95 crosses the north side of the city toward Cambridge, 18 miles east, and toward St. Cloud to the west.[^1] The two branches of the Rum River meet in the city's northeast. The river then flows south to join the [[Mississippi River]] at [[Anoka]].[^1] The Census Bureau gives the city's area as 5.15 square miles, of which 0.22 square miles is water. The city is served by Princeton Municipal Airport.[^1] ## How much The brief gives $366.18 as the sum the State Auditor found unaccounted for in the city's unrecorded lockbox.[^3] ## How many The 2020 census recorded 4,819 residents in 2,104 households, with a median age of 40.1 years.[^1] The same census counted 2,190 housing units, of which 3.9 percent were vacant. The 2010 census had counted 4,698 residents.[^1] The brief counts roughly 130 State Auditor special investigations since 1999, with one Sherburne-area entity among them.[^2] ## In the at-issue record - **AI-Sherburne-053 (Sherburne package; flagged a negative finding):** According to the brief, the State Auditor's index of roughly 130 special investigations since 1999 lists the City of Princeton, in 2011, as its only Sherburne-area entity. The brief also states that the 2025 Clear Lake embezzlement produced no special investigation. The item's anchor is a March 2025 presidential action.[^2] - **AI-Sherburne-054 (Sherburne package; flagged as audit findings, no prosecution):** According to the brief, the city kept an unrecorded lockbox of public funds from at least 1986 until its discovery in 2010. The brief states that the State Auditor found $366.18 unaccounted for and questioned expenditures, and that the matter was resolved with recommendations. The item's anchor is a May 2026 presidential action.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Princeton, Minnesota* (revision 1374793886, retrieved 2026-10-27) — location, 2020 and 2010 census counts, 2022 estimate, platting and recording dates, lumbering and brickmaking history, geography, highways, airport, and associated people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton,_Minnesota [^2]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *AI-Sherburne-053* (Sherburne package, drawn from the project's Sherburne fraud-nexus brief citing auditor.state.mn.us; pack built 2026-10-28) — the State Auditor index of roughly 130 special investigations since 1999 listing Princeton (2011) as the only Sherburne-area entity, and no special investigation of the 2025 Clear Lake embezzlement. The URL is the item's federal anchor (a White House presidential action, March 2025), not the State Auditor document. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *AI-Sherburne-054* (Sherburne package, drawn from the project's Sherburne fraud-nexus brief citing auditor.state.mn.us; pack built 2026-10-28) — an unrecorded city lockbox since at least 1986, $366.18 unaccounted for, questioned expenditures, discovery in 2010, and resolution with recommendations and no prosecution. The URL is the item's federal anchor (a White House presidential action, May 2026), not the State Auditor document. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/