MSRPO roots are planted deep in Minnesota's north woods

MSRPO has roots that stretch way back to 1994 when Dick Wray, a seasonal cabin owner on Lake Vermilion, became annoyed at rapidly rising property tax bills, particularly because he used so few services (his property is located on an island.)

Wray had labored for years to make modest improvements to his island cabin, expecting that he and his family would enjoy it during his retirement. But rapidly rising property taxes meant put this life-long dream in jeopardy.

Unsympathic assessors, legislators

Numerous conversations followed with the county assessor, county commissioners, state representatives and state senators.

It soon became obvious that Minnesota's property tax policies seriously discriminate against seasonal property owners. And that government officials weren't interested in doing much to resolve the problem.

He was not alone

With the moral and financial support of several island neighbors who shared his concerns, Wray created an organization to pursue legal and legislative solutions to the problem and MSRPO was born.

The group quickly discovered that they were not alone, and that serious property tax inequities for seasonal property owners were widespread. To improve communications and build support, the group developed a database of seasonal property owners in St. Louis County and began making regular informational mailings.

Flash forward to today

From these humble beginnings the MSRPO database has evolved into the most complete records of Minnesota seasonal property owners in existence (over 120,000 property owners, segmented by legislative voting district.)

MSRPO uses the strength of its membership to ensure that seasonal property owners' interests are well represented at the Minnesota legislature.