Five years ago, the Community OutPost opened on St. Cloud's south side, replacing a crime-ridden house with a new building featuring programming for children and neighborhood residents.

This year, St. Cloud is poised to receive $475,000 to bring a second outpost to the city as part of a massive federal spending package passed this week.

The Community OutPost, or the "COP House," is the first of its kind in the state, modeled after a program in Racine, Wis. The house is home to a handful of police services, as well as health and wellness services, after-school homework programs, children's athletic leagues and even ambulance services.

The first outpost was funded by community donations and is owned by the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation. A federal grant paid for police officers to staff the house until 2018, when the city added three officer positions to the budget to continue the programming.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Wednesday the $475,000 for a second outpost on the city's east side. The city is expected to receive funding over the next several months.

"The St. Cloud Community OutPost has provided a national model for how effective community policing can bolster public safety and foster positive police-community interactions," Klobuchar said in a statement. "This funding will enable a second COP House to continue improving public safety and quality of life."

Leila Navidi, Star Tribune, Star Tribune
St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson, center, with St. Cloud Police Sgt. Ryan Sayre, left, attended a hockey event for kids near the Community OutPost on Thursday, February 25, 2021.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said the COP House has been key to helping build relationships and safer neighborhoods.

"This funding will allow us to bring the proven benefits of the Community OutPost to bolster the quality of life in another neighborhood," he said.

Last week, Kleis and Police Chief William Blair Anderson touted the success of the COP House during a visit with Gov. Tim Walz at City Hall. Anderson told Walz the Police Department, like others across the state, is struggling with recruitment and retention of officers, and said he worried a shortage of officers could affect the department's successful community engagement programs like the COP House.

The second outpost is proposed to house nutritional-assistance services, health care agencies and ambulance services.