MnDOT, Minneapolis officials clear out another homeless encampment
MINNEAPOLIS -- Another homeless encampment was cleared out Wednesday morning, this one near Currie Park in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis.
The clearing was performed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation along with officials with the city.
Officials said that the encampment was regarded as a "critical safety concern" following a fatal shooting there last week. The victim in that shooting was 27-year-old Adnan Mohamed Ali.
"MnDOT has always maintained that highway right-of-way is not a safe place for human beings to live," MnDOT communications director Jake Loesch said. "As always when responding to the complex and urgent needs of people experiencing homelessness, MnDOT closely coordinates with local service providers and state and county partners to provide information, support and alternatives to people at the site."
Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman, who represents the neighborhood in which the encampment was set up, told WCCO he had been begging Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Transportation for months to take action at the encampment.
"I am disgusted at how the state has willfully ignored and disregarded my community," Osman said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
MnDOT said that there were regular visits to the encampment during the last several weeks, to inform those setting up there that they had other available services and shelters. They say that now they are working with those who were at the encampment to set them up with organizations that can help them, including the American Indian Community Development Center, Adult Shelter Connect, United Way 211 and City of Minneapolis outreach staff.
