The explosive 2025 resurgence of Minnesota’s daycare fraud scandal—empty buildings collecting millions, misspelled signs, and viral footage from independent journalist Nick Shirley—has exposed more than just ghost centers. It has revealed a decade-long pattern where accusations of racism and Islamophobia systematically shielded fraudulent operations, predominantly in the Somali community, from rigorous scrutiny under Democratic governors, including Tim Walz. This isn’t about