Adjusting to the Twists and Turns of Life

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Grading the UK Kings Since Alfred the Great

Military Pilot Pass rate by Sociodemographics

Media Reporting On Minnesota Somali Fraud before 2024 (including in 2013)

For everyone who thinks Nick Shirley was the first person to report on fraud in MN, get a clue. Here’s a very short and not at all comprehensive list of previous reporting from YEARS ago.

1. Jeff Baillon (Fox 9 / KMSP, Minneapolis) – Lead investigative reporter on multiple stories about daycare fraud, including overbilling, kickbacks, cash in suitcases leaving MSP airport, and Somali-owned centers under investigation. Key 2018 piece: “Millions of dollars in suitcases fly out of MSP, but why?” (May 2018; builds on earlier Fox 9 work from ~2013–2015). fox9.com

2. Chris Serres (Star Tribune / Minneapolis Star Tribune) – Covered raids, charges, overbilling at specific centers (often involving Somali operators), and community responses. Example: “May 23: Minneapolis child care center accused of illegally billing state program” (2015, on Salama Child Care Center raid/overbilling). Also reported 2016 charges and 2018 Somali providers’ pushback. startribune.com

3. Scott W. Johnson (City Journal / Power Line) – Independent/policy journalist who wrote on the scale of daycare fraud involving mostly Somali-owned centers and assimilation questions. Article: “Mogadishu, Minnesota” (May 2018). city-journal.org

4. Kim Crockett (Center of the American Experiment) – Policy writer/fellow who covered welfare/child-care fraud, the 2018 Fox 9 reporting, Somali community involvement in cases, and the 2019 legislative auditor review. Piece: “Child care welfare fraud” (Spring 2019, Thinking Minnesota). americanexperiment.org

5. Alpha News / Megan Olson (and related Alpha News coverage) – Local independent outlet that reported on the 2019 Office of the Legislative Auditor findings regarding CCAP fraud allegations (stemming from earlier Fox 9/Somali-linked cases). Article: “Child Care Fraud Confirmed by State Auditor’s New Report” (March 2019). (Liz Collin, associated with Alpha News, has covered related Minnesota fraud extensively in later years; the outlet tracked these issues in the period.) alphanews.org

6. Laura Yuen (MPR News) – Reported on state investigations of the 10 daycare providers (many Somali-owned), official responses to Fox 9 claims, and related context. Example: “Fox 9 reporting on day care fraud called into question” (May 2018). mprnews.org

7. J. Patrick Coolican (Star Tribune) – Covered the 2019 legislative auditor report responding to the 2018 fraud allegations (including Somali-linked cases and unproven terror-funding claims). Article: “Audit: Fraud in Minnesota’s child care program not $100 million but still troubling” (March 2019). startribune.com

8. Bill Glahn (Center of the American Experiment) – Policy analyst who has extensively tracked Minnesota welfare/child-care fraud (including early Somali-linked cases from ~2016 onward); his documentation and commentary reference the 2015–2019 period. Later tracker work builds on that era (e.g., references to 2018 reporting and auditor findings). Example context from his ongoing work: coverage tying back to the period’s cases.

Middle Class Is Shrinking Because They Are Becoming Upper Income

Mamdani & Trump Think Previously Failed Policies (Socialism & Protectionism) Will Succeed with Them

BROS: Mamdani and Trump Think Alike (Like Children) 1. Mamdani: Even though Socialism has a miserable and predictable track record of abject failure everywhere in the world and anytime in history it’s been tried (e.g., Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela), my new brand of Socialism, for the first time in history, will somehow succeed wildly in NYC thanks to my childlike political “leadership.” 2. Trump: Even though Protectionism has a miserable and predictable track record of abject failure everywhere and anytime it’s been tried (e.g., the Great Depression’s Smoot-Hawley Act), my new brand of Protectionism, for the time in history, will somehow succeed wildly in the USA thanks to my childlike political “leadership.”