Glenwood Woman Claims $1 Million Powerball® Prize
Karen Harger Hadn't Checked Her Winning Ticket Until A Few Days Ago
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CLIVE, Iowa – A Glenwood woman said it took her nearly two months to claim her $1 million Powerball® prize because she simply hadn't checked her ticket until a few days ago.
Karen Harger of Glenwood won a $1 million prize in the Powerball drawing on Nov. 4. But she said she always sets her tickets aside and doesn't usually check them for a couple months. On Friday evening, she sat down at her computer and started checking her numbers.
"I kept re-checking the computer, and I got my husband to come look at it," she said. "I was nervous. I said, 'Oh, we won $1,000!' And Jim said, 'No, there are three more zeroes!' And it was $1 million. And the most I had ever won from Powerball before at one time was $10."
Karen Harger, 65, who is retired from a career with the American Red Cross, said she was so flustered that rather than looking at the details on the lottery's website, she sent her husband, Jim, out to their car to get a play slip for the Powerball game so she could look at it. Jim Harger, 55, a retired engineer, said he took the time to review the details.
"I had a little time to look at this thing," he said. "I walked in there and I said, 'No, Karen, there are a little bit too many zeroes to just be $1,000.' And then I was nervous! Then we thought, 'This can't be true, this can't happen to us!'"
The Hargers said they didn't tell anyone else that they had won a big lottery prize until they had the ticket verified Monday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Council Bluffs. Karen Harger realized that day that she dropped some drug-store coupons on the floor as she was trying to check her winning ticket.
"I don't plan to stop using coupons. I've done it all of my adult life," she said. "And we talked about that – this is not changing what we do. It just makes things a little easier."
Karen Harger bought her winning Powerball ticket at Casey's convenience store, 701 32nd Ave. in Council Bluffs, while running errands and going to appointments in that city. Her ticket came within one number of having at least a share of the $62.9 million jackpot in the Nov. 4 drawing, matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball.
The winning numbers that night were: 12-14-26-48-51 and Powerball 13. The Power Play® number was 3. Harger's ticket was one of only two across the country that won a $1 million prize that night, with the other purchased in Florida.
Casey's received a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.
Karen Harger said that she usually plays her own set of numbers in Powerball, but her $1 million-winning ticket was a quick-pick play. She had left her play slip in the car that day and decided just to buy a quick pick instead.
The Hargers said they plan to use their winnings to establish college savings accounts for their four grandchildren; remodel their home; and invest for the rest of their retirement years. Jim also has his heart set on a new wood-burning stove for their home.
Four Iowa Lottery players have now claimed prizes of at least $1 million in calendar year 2017, all of them in the Powerball game.
Players in $2 Powerball choose their first five numbers from a pool of 69, and another number – called the Powerball – from a separate pool of 26. The Power Play® option is available for an extra $1 per play.
Since getting its start in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, Powerball has grown into one of the world's biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today Powerball is played by 47 lotteries across the country with drawings at 9:59 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $3.9 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.8 billion for state programs.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for our state's veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund; help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund; and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.
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