Minneapolis closed same homeless encampment 8 times in 10 weeks
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A report being presented to the Minneapolis City Council on Wednesday shows city officials kept closing the same encampment over and over again over the course of weeks.
Encampment report
What we know:
City officials shared information on homeless encampment closures over the first half of 2026.
In their report, city staff noted that there were ten closures over the first six months of the year. However, eight of the closures occurred at the same site over and over again.
Timeline:
A memo provided by staff members notes that the same encampment was closed, re-established, and closed again, over and over again over the course of about ten weeks. Sometimes the city would close the encampment and return the following day to close it again.
The memo reports closures on: Jan. 5, Feb. 13, Feb. 17, Feb. 23, Feb. 26, March 9, March 10, and March 19.
The report does not indicate whether the encampment was re-established again after the March 19 closure.
Closure reasons
The backstory:
Officials cited numerous 911 calls around the encampment, including reports of fires, medical emergencies, auto thefts and domestic disturbances.
One issue that made the closures difficult is that the encampment was on a parcel of land in the Phillips neighborhood owned by multiple government agencies.
By the numbers:
Very few people ended up accepting shelter assistance from the city despite outreach efforts.
Officials say shelter was offered 278 times during outreach ahead of the closures. Only nine offers were accepted.
The Source: Minneapolis City Council documents.