DAYCARE OWNER TIED TO $18M FRAUD SETTLEMENT WINS ELECTION

A Minnesota daycare owner whose business was tied to a nonprofit involved in a massive fraud settlement won a seat in the state legislature. Democrat Abdi Daisane defeated Republican Mike Conway on November 3, 2026, flipping a St. Cloud district that had been held by Republicans since at least 2002.

Daisane, 38, won Minnesota House District 14A with 51.60 percent of the vote against Conway, who was the St. Cloud City Council president. The victory made him the first Somali-born state legislator from the St. Cloud area, according to the Star Tribune. He previously ran unsuccessfully for the same House seat in 2024.

Outside of politics, Daisane is the CEO of Blooming Kids Child Care Center in St. Cloud. ABC News 4 reported his center has received $7.29 million from the state’s Child Care Assistance Program since 2018.

The daycare’s food-care funds were sponsored by Partners in Nutrition, a nonprofit that settled an $18.5 million civil fraud lawsuit with the state on September 24, 2026. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office alleged the nonprofit submitted false claims for meals that were never served and facilitated fraud at the food-distribution sites it was supposed to monitor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Attorney General alleged that Partners in Nutrition claimed about 3 million meals from October 2019 through September 2020. Over the corresponding period one year later, the nonprofit claimed more than 32 million meals and over $75 million in reimbursements.

“Claiming millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded reimbursements for astronomical amounts of meals that were never delivered to Minnesota’s children is despicable,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a press release. Ellison said the settlement recouped taxpayer funds but could not adequately address the erosion of public trust.

Partners in Nutrition agreed to a consent judgment that required it to surrender all funds in its possession, totaling $18,517,909.27, and permanently dissolve, according to Valley News Live. The nonprofit denied the allegations and did not admit liability, stating it settled merely to avoid prolonged litigation.

While the settlement resolved claims against the nonprofit as an organization, the Attorney General’s Office said on November 6, 2026, that investigations into individuals and entities affiliated with Partners in Nutrition remained ongoing.