Minnesota Lawmaker Claims Governor Walz Turned a Blind Eye to Massive Daycare Fraud

By Sam Barron | Tuesday, December 30, 2025

A Minnesota lawmaker said Gov. Tim Walz ignored repeated warnings that daycare providers in the state were engaging in fraud.

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican, told reporters she informed the Walz administration about her suspicions of fraud at daycare centers, but they “turned a blind eye” to her repeated warnings.

Robbins is running for the Republican nomination for governor. Walz, a Democrat, is running for a third term.

“I gave the Department of Human Services a list of daycare providers getting over $1 million in the previous year from the state who had numerous violations, and this daycare was one of them on the list,” Robbins said.

“They can’t say they didn’t know. We had a hearing on it, we gave them a list, and nothing has happened,” Robbins added.

“I find it shocking that this is still happening when we flagged something over and over again,” Robbins continued.

The Quality Learning Center was thrust into the national spotlight after independent journalist and conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a viral video showing the facility largely empty and inactive despite claims it served nearly 100 children and millions in taxpayer-funded reimbursement.

Shirley’s video, which drew millions of views and widespread conservative outrage, depicted what appeared to be a dark, inactive building with a sign misspelled as “Learning.”

While the now-infamous daycare center has not been publicly named as a target of federal charges, the controversy has intensified scrutiny of Minnesota’s broader fraud crisis, including allegations that taxpayers have been defrauded through a sprawling network of fraudulent social-service providers.

State officials described the facility as closed, despite it appearing open for business hours later on Monday.

“In Minnesota, we’ve been ground zero for fraud, unfortunately,” Robbins said. “This is a pattern across multiple programs, and despite numerous red flags, we keep seeing it.”

“They’ve started saying they are stopping payments to different programs and pausing new providers, which is welcome, but until this firestorm erupted, they’ve done nothing,” Robbins added.

Robbins stated she believes Walz should resign.

“If he resigned now, it would help, but Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has been part of this all along, so I don’t know if getting him to step down and getting Flanagan in office actually solves the problem,” Robbins said.