"The hole that we're coming out of is deep, $700 million is deep," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after a new report finds Operation Metro Surge caused massive economic damage in Minneapolis.
That figure is up significantly from the estimated $203 million in damages that the city announced back in February.
Colonial Market owner Daniel Hernandez felt Operation Metro Surge's impact almost immediately.
"January we were only running the store with 10 people," Hernandez said. "February we were running our store with five people, and right now we have two people."
Hernandez made the decision to close his East Lake Street store after losing $3 million, a reality of the economic damages Operation Metro Surge caused in Minneapolis, said Frey.
"We found that the neighborhoods that were hit hardest were Central and Whittier," announced Frey. "Communities that are home to many small businesses, workers, and immigrant families. These numbers matter, because they help tell the story of exactly what happened, but they also help guide what comes next."
Frey says just last week, the city began delivering relief to businesses, with nearly 1,200 businesses receiving license fee refunds.
Despite the challenges, Hernandez says he's ready to fight back.
"We might be beat up, we might be on the floor, but if we can stand up for the second round and say, 'hey, give me more,' because this is not enough," Hernandez said Wednesday. "What do I see colonial Market doing? We're not running away from Minneapolis."
According to North Star Policy Action's report, in the first three months of 2026, Operation Metro surge caused Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality sector:
- To lose approximately 4,600 jobs.
- To lose 3% of weekly hours among employees who kept their jobs, leading to 2.6 million hours of lost work in the sector.
- Together, these jobs and hours effects translate into 3.8 million total working hours lost in the industry.
- Applied to industry averages, this implies that $71 million in wages were lost in Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality sector across January, February, and March of 2026.
“This new report reiterates that businesses and workers across Minnesota were devastated by Operation Metro Surge earlier his year, with an estimated 4,600 jobs and $71 million in wages lost,” said Minnesota state Senator Bobby Joe Champion (DFL- Minneapolis) in a statement. “The economic recovery package that passed the Senate would have gone a long way to help businesses that are still reeling from the federal occupation of our state. Unfortunately, my push to help them was killed by House Republicans in the final hours of the legislative session. Our work is not done, and I will continue to look for ways to help businesses still recovering from Metro Surge.”
"We found that the neighborhoods that were hit hardest were Central and Whittier," announced Mayor Jacob Frey
"We found that the neighborhoods that were hit hardest were Central and Whittier," announced Mayor Jacob Frey
