Voters demand South St. Paul council member resign after daycare shut down
Resignation calls after meth case at daycare
Residents of South St. Paul are demanding one of their council members resign her position after a child enrolled at her home daycare tested positive for methamphetamine, forcing it to shut down.
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Several voters called on South St. Paul City Council member Pam Bakken to step down after a child at the daycare she ran tested positive for methamphetamine.
Voters call on South St. Paul city council member to step down
The backstory:
State regulators shut down Pam Bakken’s South St. Paul day care in December, days after a 3-year-boy tested positive for meth after spending the day at the facility.
In a letter to Bakken, the Minnesota Department of Human Services said the children at her facility were "at an imminent risk of harm."
What they're saying:
Victoria Kane, the boy’s mother, said her son became seriously ill at the day care on Dec. 6. He was hospitalized but recovered.
He told his mother that he ate something in the bathroom at the day care shortly before falling ill.
"He didn’t stop talking the whole time as we sat in the ER room in a bed. He just talked and talked and talked," she told FOX 9. "My son’s statements that he ate onion crumbs off of the floor at her house, and we figured out that that’s what meth looks like."
What's next:
Lakeville police are handling the investigation to avoid a conflict of interest, since Bakken sits on the South St. Paul City Council, Kane said.
At this point, no one faces any criminal charges.
Bakken did not comment.