St. Cloud Times

St. Cloud could be seeing a second COP House on the East Side after U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Wednesday that she has secured $475,000 in federal funding to improve public safety in St. Cloud.

The St. Cloud Police Department established the city’s first COP House in south St. Cloud in 2017, the first of its kind in the state. In 2018, it received the U.S. Department of Justice’s L. Anthony Sutin Civic Imagination Award for the project. The COP House provides health care, social services and after-school programming, English language programs, sewing classes, breastfeeding clinics, back-to-school events, dental clinics and legal office hours, among others.

The St. Cloud Police Department, Mayo Ambulance, CentraCare Health and Stearns County Social Services have space in the converted house. 

“The St. Cloud Community Outpost House has provided a national model for how effective community policing can bolster public safety and foster positive police-community interactions,” Klobuchar said. “This funding will enable a second COP House to continue improving public safety and quality of life, making a real difference for people living in St. Cloud’s East Side.”

The East Side COP House will provide space for nutritional assistance services, healthcare agencies and ambulance services, as well as house police.

Klobuchar was involved in securing the federal funding through a process called Congressionally Directed Spending and has considered project proposals and requested funding in coordination with Minnesota leaders.

Projects are expected to receive funding in the next several months, her announcement said.

“The COP House has been key to helping build relationships and a safer healthier neighborhood here in St. Cloud. This funding will allow us to bring the proven benefits of the Community Outpost House to bolster the quality of life in another neighborhood here in our city,” said St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis.

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