St. Paul Randolph encampment triples after Pig's Eye sweep
St. Paul's Randolph/Shepard Road homeless encampment has more than tripled in size since the city cleared Pig's Eye Park, raising urgent safety and health concerns, Assistant Mayor Cedrick Baker said.[1]
The site sits on a former auto salvage yard with soil contaminated by lead and carcinogens, in a flood-prone area that emergency crews find hard to access.[1] Emergency medical services recently responded there to a stillbirth, and the city says only seven former Pig's Eye residents have used the newly funded shelter beds despite a $1 million expansion.[1] Assistant Mayor Baker also said activists have planted "booby traps," creating safety concerns for city staff.[1]
On July 8, 2026, Mayor Kaohly Her announced a plan to close the city's three largest homeless encampments on a rolling basis, starting with Pig's Eye Park on August 5. Ramsey County received $1.08 million from the city on July 22 to expand emergency shelter capacity ahead of the closures. Most people displaced from Pig's Eye moved to the Randolph site rather than to the added shelter beds.
Neighbors near the Waterford Bay apartments say the Pig's Eye sweep pushed people into woods behind luxury housing, worsening public urination and trash complaints. Social posts also say the Randolph site is harder for police and EMS to reach, and they say some drug users avoid shelters because rules ban substances.
The mainstream summary does not mention the broader context of homelessness in Minnesota, where the 2025 Point-in-Time count identified 8,392 individuals experiencing homelessness statewide, reflecting an 8.8% decrease from the previous year. This statistic suggests that while the Randolph encampment has grown significantly, the overall trend in homelessness may not be as dire as the local situation implies. Additionally, St. Paul-area emergency shelters are operating at or above 80-100% capacity, indicating that the expansion of shelter beds may not be sufficient to meet the demand, as only seven individuals from the Pig's Eye encampment have utilized these new resources. This highlights a disconnect between available shelter options and the needs of those displaced, which the mainstream summary does not fully explore.
Furthermore, the summary frames the situation primarily through the lens of safety and health concerns, but it overlooks the structural factors contributing to the rise in encampments. For instance, the National Alliance to End Homelessness attributes the increase in unsheltered homelessness to a housing affordability crisis, exacerbated by insufficient affordable housing development and the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds. This perspective suggests that the challenges faced by the Randolph encampment are part of a larger systemic issue rather than isolated incidents, a nuance absent from the mainstream account.
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📊 Relevant Data
Minnesota's 2025 Point-in-Time count identified 8,392 individuals experiencing homelessness statewide, an 8.8% decrease from 2024.
2025 Point-in-Time Count Results — Minnesota's HMIS
St. Paul-area emergency shelters, including those operated by Catholic Charities and Union Gospel Mission, routinely operate at or above 80-100% capacity with few available beds on most nights.
St. Paul: Shelter providers scramble ahead of Aug. 5 deadline to clear homeless camps — Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Ramsey County maintained a priority waiting list of 2,668 individuals and families for permanent supportive housing as of June 2026.
The Final Days Inside St. Paul’s Pig’s Eye Encampment — Racket
📌 Key Facts
- The Randolph/Shepard Road encampment in St. Paul has more than tripled in size since the city cleared Pig’s Eye Park, according to Assistant Mayor Cedrick Baker.
- The encampment sits on a former auto salvage yard with soil contaminated by lead and carcinogenic substances, in a flood‑prone area that is hard for emergency crews to access; EMS recently responded there to a stillbirth.
- Only seven former Pig’s Eye residents are confirmed to have used newly funded shelter beds despite a $1 million expansion, and Baker alleges some activists have planted “booby traps,” creating safety concerns for city staff.
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