CHEYENNE — The busy lunch crowd at Espi’s Restaurant says the coffee is OK, the green chili is great and the playfully irreverent vibe a breath of fresh air.
It’s that attitude of not taking oneself or the world too seriously that has people driving past the morning and lunch spot and stopping — not for the famous breakfast burritos.
They’re stopping to take photos of Espi’s sign, which Monday read: “I am so broke, moving to Minn. and opening a daycare.”
That’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to an exploding national political uproar over claims that a number of fraudulent day care centers have bilked Minnesota out of millions of dollars from the state’s Child Care Assistance Program.
More than 800 miles away in Cheyenne, Espi’s owner Todd Espinoza said his humorous take on the scandal isn’t a political statement.
“I don’t mean to ruffle any feathers, but it does make me laugh,” he said about the sign. “That’s why I love being in Wyoming. People here take things like that with a grain of salt.”
Espinoza also said he has so far gotten “not one complaint” about poking a little fun at another state’s problem.
“I think that’s because something like what happened there isn’t likely here because Wyoming is full of watchdogs,” he said. “So, it probably wouldn’t happen here.”
The Fallout
A punchline in Wyoming, there are few in Minnesota laughing about the allegations the state has been fleeced for millions — with little done to stop it — have rocked that state’s politics.
The latest fallout came Monday, when embattled Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he’s giving up his campaign for reelection.
He acknowledges in a statement announcing he won’t seek a third term that “for the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity.”
Walz says the 42-minute video exposing the alleged scheme by MAGA YouTube content creator Nick Shirley was an orchestrated political attack on his state to get him out of the governor’s office.
“I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies — in Washington, in St. Paul, and online — want to make our state a colder, meaner place,” Walz says in his statement.
He also criticizes a Trump administration move to halt all federal money for state child-care programs until states can prove the money is going to where it’s intended.
The backlash has run the political gamut, from Democrats calling Shirley a MAGA shill operating on orders to stir the pot in Minnesota to Republicans outraged that Walz knew about the day care fraud and hadn’t acted to stop it.
Not Likely In Wyoming
While there have been no similar allegations about Wyoming’s child care system, what’s happening in Minnesota is worth keeping an eye on, said state Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne.
“I used to be an auditor, a bank auditor, so I always want to sniff around and see how money is spent,” said Lucas, who also is a member of the Wyoming Department of Family Services Advisory Council.
“I have concerns about everything,” she said. “I will say that the governor of Minnesota has admitted he knows about the fraud. If that’s true, it means it’s very pervasive in Minnesota.”
With the scandal raging across the country, the Wyoming Department of Family Services said it’s been quiet in the Cowboy State.
“I have not heard of any questions about our licensing requirements or about child-care providers in Wyoming,” said agency spokesperson Kelly Douglas.
Wyoming has 508 licensed child care facilities that care for 20,880 kids, she said.
What happened in Minnesota isn’t likely to happen in Wyoming because “the state visits child care facilities and does inspections, and we know what our facilities are doing,” Douglas said.
“We really do check in with our providers,” she added.
It’s Expected
In the meantime, Espi’s will continue to keep people chuckling with its sign messages, Espinoza said.
People in Cheyenne expect it, he added.
He’s drawn attention before with some of his other wacky signs, like: “Chicken gets fired, chicken is broke, chicken strips $7.50;” or the cheeky, “What does the gay cowboy say to his horse … Haaay.”
That last one, rather than drawing criticism for making a gay joke, instead was praised by a local LBGTQ advocacy group that not only said the joke was funny but also called for more.
“What’s the funniest PG-rated gay joke you’ve ever heard?” Wyoming Equality posted to its Facebook page in response. “We’re talkin’ cheesy, campy, roll-your-eyes-but-still-laugh kind of jokes. Drop them in the comments — we’re ready!”
It’s that don’t-take-yourself-so-seriously attitude that keeps Al Bus coming to Espi’s.
The retired Vietnam veteran said the current sign’s cheesy take is “typical,” and he joked about Espinoza trying to run a day care out of Espi’s.
“I don’t think Todd’s qualified for a day care, because he’d probably scare little kids,” Bus said.
Asked if the quirky signs are what keeps him coming back to the place, Bus said: “How do I say this? I don’t necessarily come in here for the food.”
It’s family, he said. So much so that the women who work there are all his adopted granddaughters.
As if on cue, as Bus is leaving, the girl behind the counter yells after him: “See you later, grandpa.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
