$300 million reasons to care

Article by: Jackie Crosby , Star Tribune
Updated: August 16, 2007 - 10:12 AM

Minnesota is trying to find more than a million owners of unclaimed property.

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It wasn't exactly like winning the lottery, but Cindy Nelson, the city clerk of Crosby, Minn., was intrigued to discover that her city might have some cash coming its way. The city's Fire Department is listed in an online database of more than 1 million Minnesotans with unclaimed property from banks and businesses.

The Department of Commerce, which collects the money and tries to find owners, said Wednesday that Minnesotans have more than $300 million in unclaimed funds.

The money comes from abandoned checking and savings accounts, uncashed payroll checks, stocks and bonds, or items from safe deposit boxes.

Last year, the state processed more than 27,000 claims, an increase of 30 percent, according to the Commerce Department.

As for the Crosby Fire Department, it is owed "over $100" from United Telephone of Minnesota. (Listings are divided into three categories: over $100, under $100 or unknown.)

Curiously, the next-door city of Ironton is included on the listing. But unlike Crosby, a town of 2,300 northeast of Brainerd, Ironton doesn't have its own phone line, Nelson said.

"I'll be darned," she said. "It just might be us."

Nelson said there is still a building in town with United Telephone sign on it, though the company was bought by Sprint in 1990 and in 2006 was spun off into Embarq Minnesota.

Jackie Crosby • jcrosby@startribune.com

Missing money:

How to find it

To see if you are eligible for money you didn't know was yours, search www.missingmoney.com for listings nationwide or access Minnesota listings through the Department of Commerce's Unclaimed Property Unit at

www.commerce.state.mn.us .

You can also call the Commerce Department at 651-296-2568 or 800-925-5668.

MISSING MONEY: HOW TO FIND IT

To see if you are eligible for money you didn't know was yours, search www.missingmoney.com for listings nationwide or access Minnesota listings through the Department of Commerce's Unclaimed Property Unit at www.commerce.state.mn.us. You can also call the Commerce Department at 651-296-2568 or 800-925-5668.