A Somali daycare owner whose St. Cloud childcare business has received millions in taxpayer funding while racking up years of state licensing violations is now headed to the Minnesota Legislature.
DFL candidate Abdi Daisane defeated Republican Mike Conway in Tuesday’s election for Minnesota House District 14A, flipping a Republican-held seat.
With all 18 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Daisane receiving 9,163 votes, or 51.59%, compared with Conway’s 8,570 votes, or 48.25% — a margin of just 593 votes.
Millions in taxpayer payments, years of violations
An Oct. 29 Alpha News investigation revealed that Daisane’s Blooming Kids Child Care Center received more than $7.29 million through Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) since 2018. CCAP is a state-run program that subsidizes childcare for low-income families.
The program is one of several at the center of Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandals.
A worker formerly employed at a neighboring business for years told Alpha News they did not recall seeing children entering or leaving the facility. However, the worker acknowledged a rear entrance they could not observe.
Blooming Kids Child Care Center also received nearly $600,000 in approved claims through a federally funded food program, according to records provided to Alpha News.
The records show some of those claims were approved under the sponsorship of Partners in Nutrition, a nonprofit that recently agreed to an $18.5 million settlement over allegations of widespread food-program fraud. Blooming Kids Child Care Center was not named in that case.
Further, the daycare center has a history of licensing violations which Alpha News first exposed in 2024. Since then, violations include hazardous objects being accessible to children, unclean space, and staff not supervising children at all times.
Daisane, who first ran for the House in 2024, losing to Republican Bernie Perryman, did not respond to Alpha News’ prior repeated requests for comment on the findings.
Now, despite the mounting scrutiny surrounding his taxpayer-funded business, Daisane will help make decisions about Minnesota’s laws, spending and government oversight.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
