There’s an Occupy Fergus Falls, an Occupy Mankato and an Occupy Brainerd, Bemidji, Northfield, Alexandria, Marshall, Rochester, Duluth and Fargo-Moorhead.

And the Saintly City? Yeah, an Occupy Saint Paul is getting under way.

Spinoffs of the Occupy Wall Street movement hit the state in early October when OccupyMN protesters started camping out on the plaza in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. Similar organizations have sprouted in towns throughout the state to protest income inequality or corporate control of government.

Now, a group of activists has decided the east metro needs its own occupy movement as well.

“Occupy Saint Paul’s roots are growing as a result of people in the eastern metro that have difficulty getting to the downtown Minneapolis location due to logistics or other obstacles,” according to the organization’s website. “Occupy Saint Paul believes that all people interested in being a part of the Occupy Movement should be able to do so.”

“It’s not a competition with Minneapolis,” said Occupy Saint Paul participant Nathan Jewett. “There’s a unity. But there’s an independence.”

The St. Paul group is still in the planning stages, and there has been no decision on whether the group will try a “ground occupation” of a particular location. Group members have spoken to security officials at the state Capitol, according to Carol Thielen, one of the group members.

“Our main concern is safety during the dead of winter,” Thielen said.

“There are those who want to camp out all winter,” Jewett said. But he said, “Occupy is a consciousness. It’s a new awakening. It’s not all about a physical location.”

The St. Paul group will hold its first general assembly meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday at the community room of the Roseville Public Library, 2180 Hamline Ave. N.

Most of the outstate Occupy groups are staging protests rather than round-the-clock campouts. An exception is the group that’s been camping out near Duluth city hall.

“We built our first yurt,” said Occupy Duluth participant Tiffany Lee. “We’re winterizing tents. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

In Bemidji, Occupy1st CityOnMississippi has held a couple of demonstrations at a park near the statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.

“We’re a small town. People know each other. We don’t tend to want to get into each other’s faces,” said organizer Luke Whiting.

Judd Hoff said Occupy Alexandria will hold its first meeting at a county park on Saturday. So far, the movement has consisted of his dressing up as a “corporate zombie” and protesting at bank branches in town.

“I have lots of work to do today, but I will probably find time to hit either Wells (Fargo) or U.S. (Bank) with a brief bull horn session,” Hoff wrote Tuesday on Facebook. “God it’s exhilarating.”

Zane Zodrow said he started Occupy Rochester protests after considering taking part in the OccupyMN movement in Minneapolis.

“I figured, well, it would save a lot of driving,” he said.

Terry Sluss, with Occupy Brainerd, said people in rural areas beset by high unemployment rates have as much reason to protest as people in big cities.

“The problems we’re trying to address, the things we’re fed up with, are true for anyone in the United States,” Zodrow said. “Obviously, it’s not possible to Occupy Wall Street unless you go to New York. But it’s still possible to make your voice be heard.”

Richard Chin can be reached at 651-228-5560.