ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, OCT. 18, 2015 AND THEREAFTER – In this June 2, 2015 photo, State Rep. Joe Atkins helps Gayle Wyant, right, check her name in the Minnesotas Department of Commerce unclaimed property list at a booth at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minn. Atkins said he stumbled on the issue in the fall of 2014 when a friend mentioned the state had taken control of $700 belonging to his grandmother. Like other unclaimed property, it went directly to the state’s general fund. Atkins decided to search the state’s unclaimed assets list for people in his district. In three weeks, working 10 minutes a day, Atkins said he easily located people holding claims for $309,363. “These are people I see at the grocery store. They’re not hard to find. They live down the street from me,” Atkins said. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
