The tally is now seven for the number of times that Salvation Army red kettles in the Twin Cities have received a $1,000 donation in the form of 10 C-notes, the charity said Tuesday.

The latest mystery contribution came Monday at the Cub Foods in Arden Hills.

"St. Grand strikes again," Salvation Army spokeswoman Annette Bauer said.

As with the first five donations, Monday's were crisp $100 bills. The sixth instance, however, involved circulated bills, prompting Bauer to stop short of saying all of these grand gestures were the work of a single person.

The six with fresh currency have all been in the east metro area, with the first coming on Nov. 29. The wad of circulated Benjamins were found Saturday in a kettle in the north metro, in St. Francis.

As of last week, the Salvation Army said it has so far collected about $4.9 million toward its Christmas campaign goal of $11.4 million. The kettles will be out until Saturday, and the campaign closes Dec. 31.

PAUL WALSH