Laws of Minnesota 1989 

                         CHAPTER 26-H.F.No. 210 
           An act relating to counties; permitting counties to 
          rent county-owned residences by less formal procedure; 
          amending Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 373.01, 
          subdivision 1. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 373.01, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  Each county is a body politic and corporate 
and may: 
    (1) Sue and be sued. 
    (2) Acquire and hold real and personal property for the use 
of the county, and lands sold for taxes as provided by law. 
    (3) Purchase and hold for the benefit of the county real 
estate sold by virtue of judicial proceedings, to which the 
county is a party. 
    (4) Sell, lease, and convey real or personal estate owned 
by the county, and give contracts or options to sell, lease or 
convey it, and make orders respecting it as deemed conducive to 
the interests of the county's inhabitants.  
    No sale, lease or conveyance of real estate owned by the 
county, except the lease of a residence acquired for the 
furtherance of an approved capital improvement project, nor any 
contract or option for it, shall be valid, without first 
advertising for bids or proposals in the official newspaper of 
the county for three consecutive weeks and once in a newspaper 
of general circulation in the area where the property is 
located.  The notice shall state the time and place of 
considering the proposals, contain a legal description of any 
real estate, and a brief description of any personal property.  
All proposals shall be considered at that time, and the one most 
favorable to the county accepted, but the county board may, in 
the interest of the county, reject any or all proposals.  Sales 
of personal property the value of which is estimated to be 
$15,000 or more shall be made only after advertising for bids or 
proposals as provided for real estate.  Sales of personal 
property the value of which is estimated to be less than $15,000 
may be made either on competitive bids or in the open market, in 
the discretion of the county board.  
    If real estate or personal property remains unsold after 
advertising for and consideration of bids or proposals the 
county may employ a broker to sell the property.  The broker may 
sell the property for not less than 90 percent of its appraised 
market value as determined by the county.  The broker's fee 
shall be set by agreement with the county but may not exceed ten 
percent of the sale price and must be paid from the proceeds of 
the sale. 
    A county or its agent may rent a county-owned residence 
acquired for the furtherance of an approved capital improvement 
project subject to the conditions set by the county board and 
not subject to the conditions for lease otherwise provided by 
this clause. 
    In no case shall lands be disposed of without there being 
reserved to the county all iron ore and other valuable minerals 
in and upon the lands, with right to explore for, mine and 
remove the iron ore and other valuable minerals, nor shall the 
minerals and mineral rights be disposed of, either before or 
after disposition of the surface rights, otherwise than by 
mining lease, in similar general form to that provided by 
section 93.20 for mining leases affecting state lands.  The 
lease shall be for a term not exceeding 50 years, and be issued 
on a royalty basis, the royalty to be not less than 25 cents per 
ton of 2,240 pounds, and fix a minimum amount of royalty payable 
during each year, whether mineral is removed or not.  
Prospecting options for mining leases may be granted for periods 
not exceeding one year.  The options shall require, among other 
things, periodical showings to the county board of the results 
of exploration work done.  
     (5) Make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to 
the property and concerns of the county necessary to the 
exercise of its corporate powers. 
    Presented to the governor April 5, 1989 
    Signed by the governor April 6, 1989, 8:40 a.m.