St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her has announced a plan to close three homeless encampments in the city, starting with the largest, in Pig's Eye Park, on Aug. 5.

Why it matters: The mayor's ambitious and controversial plan signals a big shift in St. Paul officials' approach to a growing problem with unsheltered homelessness.

• Previously, despite laws against unsanctioned camping, city officials have tolerated encampments up to a point.

What they're saying: "We do not want to have any more established encampments moving forward," assistant mayor Cedrick Baker recently told the City Council.

The latest: Outreach efforts are underway at the three encampments: at Pig's Eye Park, along Shepard Road and at the former Kmart on L'Orient Street.

• St. Paul will transfer about $1 million to Ramsey County to free up 49 emergency shelter beds to accept displaced residents, she and two City Council members announced last week.

By the numbers: Rising concerns about fires, drug use and other crime have convinced city officials the encampments are too dangerous to leave open.

• Across all three camps, there's been an average of one emergency or fire call every three to four days, according to city data.
• "Enforcement is the last resort," Baker told the council. "We're not looking to criminalize; we're looking to support individuals."

Yes, but: The new emergency shelter capacity won't be enough to house all the encampments' residents: about 200 people total, according to city data — though some outreach workers insist that's an undercount.

The other side: Encampment residents and aid workers fear the sweeps will disrupt outreach efforts, separate residents from valuable possessions they can't transport, drive vulnerable people into even worse conditions.

• After Israel Dupree's encampment on L'Orient closes, "we're gonna go to the next empty lot and then rebuild our community that we built," he told Axios.

Friction point: More than 1,400 single adults in Ramsey County are currently on the waitlist for housing placements — including many residents of these encampments.

• "Any normal person would like their own apartment or whatever, but [the city is] not doing anything to help people get there," said one Pig's Eye Park resident, Ian.
• When he spoke to Axios in April, Ian had already been on a housing waiting list for four months. The average wait time for a single adult is 483 days, per county data.

What we're watching: Officials have not announced a date for closing the L'Orient and Shepard Road encampments.

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Crews have made enough progress against wildfires in northeast Minnesota to lift most of the mandatory evacuation orders in Lake and St. Louis counties, officials said in a news conference yesterday.

State of play: Crews have achieved 53% containment, on average, on each of the wildfires burning in the region, a U.S. Forest Service official said.

The latest: Starting on Thursday, the Boundary Waters will reopen central and eastern portions of the wilderness for overnight camping, the Superior National Forest announced last night.

What they're saying: Gov. Tim Walz said he's giving lawmakers fair warning that, if a peacetime emergency must be extended to continue the firefight, he'll need to call a special session.

• The emergency expires on primary election day, Aug. 11 — politically, a "precarious time" to call a session, Walz told reporters in Ely: "Any time we go into a special session, everybody wants to bring their bills up."
• If necessary, Walz said a special session should stick to wildfire business — including potentially an economic recovery package.

🥊 Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig sparred during a testy debate on live radio yesterday, two weeks before the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. (MPR News)

• Craig said it "pisses me off" that Flanagan has blamed Walz for fraud in state programs "when you [Flanagan] were the No. 2 leader."
• Flanagan suggested Craig was too cozy with Republicans, pointing to Craig's vote last year for legislation expanding ICE's detention powers.

💹 A federal judge granted Kalshi's request to pause a Minnesota law blocking prediction markets from taking effect while a lawsuit proceeds. (NBC News)

🍽️ Post Modern Times is closing for at least two weeks as it reassesses its donation-powered model that serves meals at no charge, according to an Instagram announcement.

• In the months since debuting its no-prices menu during Operation Metro Surge, neighbors say crowds, fights and cleanliness issues around the South Minneapolis restaurant have become unsustainable. (Star Tribune)

Dearly beloved, Prince is headed to Broadway.

The "Purple Rain" musical that premiered in Minneapolis last fall will begin performing at New York's Majestic Theatre next March, the show's producers announced.

• A new director and writer are helming the Broadway production after the Minneapolis version received mixed to poor reviews, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

What we're watching: Whether the musical purifies itself in the waters of the East River.

Kyle here. More than 500 readers voted in Round 1 of our tournament to pick Minnesota's best roadside attraction.

Click here to vote in Round 2! Help us pick which road-trip must-sees advance to the semifinals.

Stunning stat: Out of more than 500 votes cast as of 1pm, Lindström's Swedish coffee pot water tower won its Round 1 matchup by a mere six votes.

• Sources say Darwin's twine ball is considering an appeal that could … tie up this contest in court 🥁

And here I thought the Bemidji vs. Brainerd Bunyan battle would be the toughest pick of the first round — but Bemidji's Paul (plus Babe) won in a cakewalk.

What we're watching: Two showdowns between the oversized patron saints of German immigrants and lumberjacks, iron workers and green beans.

Choose which stops advance to the semis