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Ramsey Co. Working To Connect People With Unclaimed Money

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Ramsey County is working to connect people with nearly a quarter of a million dollars that's owed to them.

WCCO got in touch with Daniel Kahn, a father in St. Paul, to tell him he had more than $1,000 coming to him.

"I thought it was some kind of scam," Kahn said.

But he pulled up Ramsey County's unclaimed funds website and saw his name listed next to two uncashed checks – one for $719 from August 2018 and one for $321 from February 2019.

Kahn doesn't know what they're for, and is positive he never got anything in the mail.

Ramsey County's sitting on about 350 unclaimed checks.

Some are worth thousands. Others are for less than a dollar.

In total, the county owes $244,000.

It might be reimbursements or it might be overpayments, a refund of an overpayment to the county. There was one on there for like eight cents," said John Siqveland, Ramsey County's director of communications.

Anoka County has tens of thousands of dollars waiting to be claimed, and can be found on their website. 

The state of Minnesota is holding millions in unclaimed property, all listed in a searchable database.

"The way our economy is now, people need every little penny they have and the county's sitting on this money," Kahn said. "I think Ramsey County should make an effort to get a hold of these people."

Kahn has to fill out a form and get it notarized to claim his money, but he isn't counting his chickens.

"It being the government, I'll feel like I won the lottery when I get the checks," he said.

Siqveland says claimed checks get sent as soon as possible.

Eventually, unclaimed county funds get transferred to the state. The amount of time varies by county.

In Ramsey, it's three years.

To check if you're owed any money from the state, click here.

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