Mounds View police warned residents to take precautions on Monday after at least seven bear sightings in the northern suburb.
In a tweet Monday, police advised residents to remove bird feeders and any outside food, secure garbage and clean off grills. And definitely don't approach one if spotted, the tweet said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources documented all seven sightings on Sunday and Monday north of Mounds View Boulevard.
When Stephanie Oostenink spotted the bear at work, her co-workers thought she was joking until they looked out the window and saw it walking on an Interstate 35W frontage road.
"It was an odd sight for a Monday," Oostenink said, adding it came up to the front door of her workplace and then meandered to nearby a neighborhood.
Oostenink called police officers to the scene and they followed the bear in a squad car. The sighting was unsettling for Oostenink, who lives in the area.
"It's concerning because it is woodsy by our house and I have two medium-sized dogs," she said. "I don't want to have to worry about bears in my backyard."
One bear was reported in each of the sightings and no cubs, according to the reports.
