Iowa State Treasurer Roby Smith is celebrating another outstanding year of finding Iowans’ missing money via the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt at the Iowa State Fair.
“This year marks another success at the fair as we were able to reunite thousands of Iowans with their missing money,” Mr. Smith said in a news release. “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.”
The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt is Iowa’s only legitimate source of unclaimed property. Each year, millions of dollars are turned over after financial institutions and businesses lose contact with the owner.
If assets held by financial institutions and businesses go a specific period of time without activity or contact from the owner, state law requires those assets be turned over to the Treasurer’s Office for safekeeping.
The treasurer’s responsibility is to locate and reunite the funds with the owner or heir. It does so through the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. Examples include dormant checking and savings accounts, lost stocks, uncashed checks, life insurance policies, utility refunds and safe deposit box contents.
“Thousands of fairgoers stopped to search for unclaimed money,” Mr. Smith said. “Currently, my office is safekeeping more than $521 million to be claimed. Even if you have claimed in the past, search again. New properties are continually being added.”
To see if the State of Iowa has any unclaimed property waiting for you, visit GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov. Stay up-to-date with the Treasurer’s Office on Instagram, Facebook and X.
