Employees at a south Minneapolis child care center said they are increasingly concerned about drug use and safety issues, as a homeless encampment grows nearby under the Cedar Avenue and Highway 55 overpass.

Staff at Baby’s Space child care, which has served the neighborhood for more than 25 years, said things have gotten especially bad over the past month.

Yolanda Reyes is an administrative assistant at Baby’s Space, which is just blocks away from the encampment.

“The encampment was moving and then the cops would clear it out, and they’d wait a few hours and they were right back,” said Reyes.

Staff said a fence installed to discourage people from gathering at the encampment has been ineffective. A WCCO camera captured an opening in the fence that allowed people to continue gathering on the sidewalk.

Drug use has become more visible and has moved right outside the child care center’s front door, Reyes said.

“Open use, just freely using their drugs. I had to go out the front door and say, ‘Hey, this is a child care center,’” she said.

The concerns have affected daily activities at the facility. Debbie Lund, executive director for Baby’s Space, said staff worry about what children could encounter while playing outside. She said Minneapolis police now stand watch by their playground.

“It’s hard for us to play outside because we’re not sure what the kids are going to be exposed to,” said Lund.

The concerns have drawn the attention of city leaders. On Tuesday, Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez sent an email to city officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey and Public Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, requesting immediate support for unhoused residents in the area.

A city spokesperson said the fencing is temporary to allow time for a better long-term solution, in collaboration with the county, Metro Transit, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, who all have facilities in the area. 

In the meantime, the city said they are working to help people move from unsheltered homelessness into stable housing. 

Reyes and Lund emphasized that they sympathize with people living in the encampment who are struggling with addiction.

“It’s so hard because our hearts go out to everybody, and yet we really need to keep our children safe,” said Lund.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has released his timeline for selecting the city’s next police chief following the sudden resignation of former chief Brian O’Hara last month.

Timeline announced

What we know:

Mayor Frey announced a 16-week timeline on Tuesday for a national search for the next chief that will take place in six phases.

The mayor says the search will begin immediately and will start by gathering feedback from community stakeholders.

Phase 1

• Gather feedback from police department employees and hold council focus group.
• Develop police chief position profile and recruit materials.
• Community engagement
• Finalize recruitment strategy

Phase 2

• Launch recruitment campaign
• Post listings
• Accept and review applications

Phase 3: Screening interviews

• Conduct candidate evaluations
• Complete initial screening interviews
• Prepare search report and presentation of candidates

Phase 4: First-round interviews

• First-round interviews held
• The interview panel may include: Officer of Community Safety leaders, Minneapolis Police Department leadership, and police labor leadership.

Phase 5: Second-round interviews

• Second-round interviews held
• The interview panel may include: Officer of Community Safety leadership and city council members.

Phase 6: Final interviews and selection

• Final interviews with Mayor Frey, Office of Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, and other city leaders held.
• Finalist selected

Nomination process

What’s next:

The mayor anticipates submitting his nominee to the council sometime in October or November. From there, the council will review the nominee and vote on the selection.

What they’re saying:

“Selecting a police chief is one of the most important decisions a mayor can make,” said Frey. “We’ve made significant progress to make Minneapolis safer over the last several years, but we still have work to do. This position demands someone who can lead a complex department, support officers, build trust with residents, and continue delivering results – both fighting crime and making reforms. Filling this role is a priority, so we’re going to conduct a thorough search and get this right.” 

The backstory:

Former Chief O’Hara resigned last month after an investigation into allegations of him carrying on relationships with department employees. While the investigation never substantiated any of the allegations against O’Hara, investigations found O’Hara deleted a contact of one of the employees from his work phone. Investigators also say O’Hara violated requested confidentiality during the investigation process.

Bill Peterson was named interim police chief earlier this month. Peterson told media members that he isn’t interested in seeking the full-time gig.

Three people are injured after a shooting in north Minneapolis on Monday night.

The Minneapolis Police Department says that just before 8:20 p.m., officers responded to the report of a shooting on the 1600 block of Girard Avenue North.

Authorities found a man with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds outside a vehicle and a woman in the vehicle with at least one non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Both were brought to the hospital for their injuries.

Police were notified that a third person was injured and found a man hiding in a shed on the 1500 block of Girard Avenue North, who was also brought to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

MPD is working to determine what led up to the shooting and how the three people are connected to each other.

No arrests have been made at this time.