St. Louis County has launched an online auction of tax-forfeited properties for the first time since early 2023. The county is auctioning off 55 properties, including developable lots, recreational lots, waterfront lots and even three islands in Burntside Lake. The auction began last week on publicsurplus.com and runs until 11 a.m. Aug. 29. The direct link is: https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/stlouisco,mn/ browse/cataucs?catid=15 The sale of tax-forfeited properties was suspended in May 2023 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota law dealing with tax-forfeited sale proceeds was unconstitutional. The legislature passed new legislation during the 2024 session that provides new rules for managing and selling these properties.

Since all of the properties in this current auction forfeited before 2016, the new rules do not apply. St. Louis County is planning another online auction from September 19 to October 3 with additional newly forfeited properties that will be sold under the new legislation.

In addition, the county will hold a separate online auction for two shoreline properties from its former shoreline lease program. This auction will run from September 6-16. For details, visit stlouiscountymn.gov/shorelandsales.

A list of lots in the current auction, along with a catalog with photos, maps and details of each lot, including the starting bid, are available online at stlouiscountymn.gov/landsales.

To be eligible to bid, a person must not have any delinquent property taxes on any property they already own in St. Louis County. Individuals with delinquent property taxes must first pay off their debt before they can purchase from the list of available properties at auction or over the counter.

There are nearly 900,000 acres of tax-forfeited land in St. Louis County, which the county’s Land and Minerals Department is responsible for managing. The majority of the land is used for resource management, but the county also encourages the sale of land not suitable for management to encourage development and increase the property tax base.

For more information about the land sale, to see properties for sale at auction or over the open market, or to subscribe to the newsletter to receive email alerts about future sales, visit stlouiscountymn.gov/landsales or contact the Land and Minerals Department at (218) 726-2606 or [email protected].