Tom Emmer questions Tim Walz over Minnesota daycare tied to $4M: 'Can’t even spell learning'

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA: A viral video showing an apparently inactive Minnesota daycare with a misspelt sign has sparked a political confrontation and renewed scrutiny over state funding. 

The facility labeled 'Quality Learing Center' on its sign reportedly received millions in taxpayer dollars despite showing no activity or children.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has pressed Governor Tim Walz for explanations amid a broader fraud scandal in Minnesota.

Tom Emmer questions Tim Walz on Minnesota daycare fraud

Emmer, who represents the suburbs of the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, called on Walz for answers after a YouTuber visited the daycare center.

The video, which quickly went viral, captured the exterior of the center with its name misspelt “Learning” as “Learing” and no obvious signs of children or activity.

Responding on X, Emmer wrote, “4 million dollars of hard‑earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?”

The incident has become part of a growing narrative around alleged fraud in Minnesota’s childcare and social services systems.

The allegations include claims that at least $1 billion was lost to social services fraud in Minnesota, with much of it reportedly tied to the Twin Cities’ Somali community.

According to The New York Times, later this month the Trump administration will launch a major immigration enforcement operation targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St Paul area

President Trump previously said Somalia ‘stinks and we don’t want them in our country,’ and threatened to revoke temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in the state.

Nick Shirley exposes alleged fraud at daycare center

The Quality Learning Center had previously drawn attention for receiving 95 violations from the Minnesota Department of Human Services between 2019 and 2023, according to a local ABC affiliate. 

These violations reportedly included failure to keep hazardous items away from children and a lack of records for more than a dozen listed children.

Documentation showing the center’s current license did not expire until the end of 2026, despite the violations and the apparent lack of visible operations at the location.

In the video, YouTuber Nick Shirley and another man approached the building on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, prompting a woman to repeatedly shout “Don’t open up. It’s ICE.”

When Shirley identified himself as an online commentator and asked about immigration agents, the woman responded that they were “not welcome here.”

The footage also showed a document suggesting that $1.9 million had been disbursed to the center in fiscal year 2025, and that the total payments the visitor recorded to the facility reached $4 million.

The DHS lists the center as supposed to account for 99 children, a figure also mentioned by Shirley in the video. 

He said in the footage, “There’s no one here. This is a prime example of the billions of dollars in fraud happening right now in Minnesota.”