Minneapolis day care targeted in Nick Shirley YouTube video is now closed, state records show
A Minneapolis day care featured in a right-wing YouTuber's video about alleged fraud in Minnesota is now closed, according to state records.
Quality Learning Center closed on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services' licensing records. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families said that the center requested closure of its license effective Tuesday.
"The provider is unable to reopen without reapplying for a license," the agency reported.
The center's last licensing review, in June, found several operational violations but noted no evidence of fraud.
In a video posted late last month, Nick Shirley visited nearly a dozen day care centers in Minnesota, alleging they were receiving public funds but not actually providing any service. Quality Learning Center was among those targeted. When Shirley visited, the center's sign had a typo that was subsequently corrected.
CBS News conducted its own analysis of several of the day centers Shirley mentioned; all but two had active licenses, according to state records, and all active locations had been visited by state regulators within the last six months.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families visited nine of the day cares from the video, finding children present at eight of them. The ninth had not yet opened for the day when inspectors visited.
Quality Learning Center received $1.9 million from Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program in fiscal year 2025, according to the department. DCYF said it was made aware on Dec. 19 that the center intended to voluntarily close, but during a visit 10 days later, it learned it had chosen to remain open.
Shirley's video reignited furor over fraud in Minnesota.
Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people with allegedly defrauding state programs that offered meals to needy children, behavioral therapy for children with autism and assistance for seniors searching for housing.
The Trump administration deployed about 2,000 Department of Homeland Security agents to the Twin Cities earlier this week, with the stated goal of cracking down on fraud and undocumented immigration. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined the operation, which Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called a "ridiculous surge" and a "show" for the cameras that has not been coordinated with the state.
President Trump's Department of Health and Human Services announced late last month it would freeze all federal child care funding for Minnesota amid the fraud investigations. On Tuesday, the department said it planned to halt billions more in social services funding for Minnesota and four other states led by Democrats.
Walz, who earlier this week aborted his reelection campaign, accused Mr. Trump of using fraud as an excuse to attack Minnesota, saying the state is "under assault like no other time in our state's history because of a petty, vile administration that doesn't care about the well-being of Minnesotans."

