Daisane Wins Minnesota House Seat, Flipping District

Abdi Daisane, a Somali-born Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Mike Conway to win Minnesota House District 14A, flipping the St. Cloud-area seat. Daisane is CEO of Blooming Kids Child Care Center, which has received more than $7.29 million in state childcare assistance since 2018 and about $598,000 through a federal food program since 2020. The food-program funding was administered through Partners in Nutrition, which agreed to an $18.5 million settlement over allegations it defrauded Minnesota of federal child nutrition funds. Blooming Kids was not named in that settlement, and no finding has established that Daisane or the daycare participated in the alleged fraud. The center has also faced state licensing violations, prompting renewed questions about oversight of public childcare funding.