Operation Metro Surge cost Minneapolis nearly $700 million in lost wages and business closures, according to an updated assessment city leaders released Wednesday.

The report looked at figures from December 2025 through April 2026. Previously, the city had released data showing that the federal immigration enforcement action cost the city $203 million in January alone.

The Whittier and Central neighborhoods were the most impacted, the analysis says, as those areas reported the most Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity during the surge.

Colonial Market’s Daniel Hernandez said he was selling just 15% of his stock during the surge at his south Minneapolis location. He had only just opened the grocery store in November 2024, and despite a strong start, revenue only declined as community members faced uncertainty about immigration policies. He said he’s forced to shut down his Lake Street location after losing $3 million.  

“I might be in the floor right now but I know I’m going to go up again,” said Hernandez. “Because our community deserves a place that cares about them, and that place is us, Colonial Market.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey touted the city’s small business resiliency fund, which last week sent license fee refunds to 1,200 businesses. 

“Minneapolis is resilient, we’re compassionate, we’re tough and we have consistently shown grit,” Frey said, while encouraging residents to patron restaurants and stores.

According to new research from North Star Policy Action, the state’s leisure and hospitality industry was the most deeply impacted sector across the state. The sector also represents 8.7% of the state’s workforce and is on average one of the lowest-paid industries, with most employees working paycheck-to-paycheck.

A Minneapolis diner scrapped its prices in protest—and is somehow making more money. That’s the crux of a New York Times piece on Modern Times, a 15-year neighborhood staple that became “Post Modern Times” after owner Dylan Alverson decided he no longer wanted to collect sales tax for a government he saw as harming his community during the massive ICE operation there this winter. In January, he switched to a donation-only model “for the remainder of the government occupation,” braced for collapse, and instead watched his business surge, even though roughly half of his customers now pay nothing for their meals.

Reporter Brett Anderson outlines how the experiment has morphed from tax protest into something closer to a social and economic test case. Alverson says he’s finally earning more than he did running a conventional restaurant that pulled in $1.3 million in sales last year and still lost money, aided by merch revenue and outside donations. The change is now permanent. “I have succeeded more than I ever did when I was running a conventional business employing 22 people,” he says. “I think that’s proof that something is wrong.” The streamlined menu remains cooked from scratch; a security presence and staff mediation help manage tensions; and regulars say the space now functions as a rare zone of “economic equality.” For the financials, backlash, and industry context, read the full story at the New York Times.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies were fired on while serving an arrest warrant, leading to a large police presence in Minneapolis Tuesday afternoon. 

South Minneapolis large police presence

What we know:

According to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were fired at while trying to serve an arrest warrant in the area of West 28th Street and Nicollet Avenue. 

Deputies and officers from the Minneapolis Police Department have secured the scene. The roads around the incident have been closed, and authorities are asking the public to avoid the area. 

FOX 9 crews at the scene have been told by police that the suspect is barricaded in an apartment building and has a long rifle and explosives. 

Authorities say there are no reported injuries currently. 

As of 1:30 p.m., law enforcement reports that the suspect is not yet in custody. The apartment he is in has been evacuated and crisis negotiations are ongoing. 

What we don’t know:

It is not known what the arrest warrant was for. Suspect information has not been shared. 

This is an ongoing incident. Check back for updates.