(The Center Square) – More than $500,000 in unclaimed property was collected by Iowa residents at the Iowa State Fair, according to State Treasurer Roby Smith.
The money was part of the more than $500 million in properties held by the treasurer’s office.
“This year marks another success at the fair as we were able to reunite thousands of Iowans with their missing money,” said Smith. “Fairgoers had ‘Fair Fever’ and in those 11-days, over 2,400 claims were filed at the Iowa State Fair and more than $572,900 was claimed. The largest single claim filed was $50,717!”
State law requires the treasurer to store unclaimed assets, including stocks, bonds, life insurance policies and unclaimed checking and savings accounts when the owners cannot be located. While notices are mailed to the owner’s last addresses and notifications are made in newspapers and on social media, sometimes the owner is still not found.
Smith maintains a website, GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov, where unclaimed items are listed. Items that remain unclaimed are auctioned.
“Currently, my office is safekeeping more than $521 million to be claimed,” Smith said. “Even if you have claimed in the past, search again. New properties are continually being added.”
States have different rules for unclaimed property, and some have other ways of distributing it. Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read distributed $10 million in unclaimed funds without a claim in February.
South Dakota is one of the few states that send profits from abandoned property to their general budget, according to previous reports. About 3% of the state’s general fund revenues come from unclaimed property, according to state budget officials.
All states have websites listing unclaimed property. A national database is maintained by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators at MissingMoney.com.
