Tim Walz, Minnesota Officials Face Calls for Accountability After Video Exposes Empty Somali Daycare Center That Received State Funds

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other state Democrats are facing growing calls for accountability after a video of a seemingly inactive daycare center — that reportedly received millions of dollars in state funds — raised questions about officials’ management of taxpayer dollars.The uproar over the Somali-owned daycare centers comes weeks after federal prosecutors charged dozens with social services fraud. Many of the defendants are from the Somali community. The Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joseph Thompson, told CBS News earlier this month that the fraud could amount to billions of dollars.An independent journalist, Nick Shirley, posted a 42-minute-long video in which he visited several childcare centers in Minnesota that are owned by members of the Somali community. In some cases, he reported that there were no children in the facilities that were receiving state funds. One center, Quality Learning Center, had a sign with its name misspelled so that it read “Quality Learing Center.” Mr. Shirley said the facility is licensed to hold 99 children and received roughly $4 million in state funds. However, when he went to check it out, the door was locked, and the windows were “blacked out.”The video went viral, grabbing the attention of state and federal officials. The Minnesota House speaker, Lisa Demuth, posted on X, “MN House Democrats tried everything to prevent House Republicans from establishing the Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee. House Republicans prevailed and established the committee. The theft of tax dollars in MN is finally gaining national attention. Democrats will be held responsible.”Congressman Tom Emmer wrote on X, “4 million dollars of hard earned tax dollars going to and an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly.”“Care to explain this one, @tim_walz?” he asked. Mr. Emmer also shared a post from Mr. Walz — which featured a cat and the caption “Happy Caturday” — and wrote, “Your mismanagement of state funds has just been exposed to tens of millions of Americans and you’re posting about ‘Caturday.’ You should be ashamed.”Congressman Mike Lawler wrote, “Folks need to be arrested and prosecuted and the Governor of Minnesota needs to be held accountable. Congress should hold a hearing immediately and start getting answers.”The rapid response account for the White House reacted to the video, accusing the state’s “Fake News cartel” of conspiring with “Dems to bully, slander, and silence” journalists who tried to bring attention to allegations of fraud.“Walz has always had cover. Until now. And it’s only beginning,” the post said. Mr. Walz did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. The video comes weeks after federal prosecutors charged multiple individuals in Minnesota with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The House Oversight Committee is investigating allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social service program.While state officials in Minnesota faced questions about the state’s management of its funds, mainstream media outlets have faced accusations of being “uninterested” in allegations of millions of dollars being fraudulently spent.One account posted a screenshot of a Google search for the term “Minnesota fraud,” which showed that there were no articles about Mr. Shirley’s daycare center video published by major outlets such as CNN, NBC, or the Washington Post.

Tim Walz, Minnesota Officials Face Calls for Accountability After Video Exposes Empty Somali Daycare Center That Received State Funds

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