Iowa Lottery

Jones County Woman Wins $30,000 Lottery Prize

Lindsay Stigen Wins Top Prize Playing the "Crossword" Scratch Game

  Hear Lindsay tell her story.

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DES MOINES, Iowa - A Kirkwood Community College student was shocked to discover she won a top prize of $30,000 playing the lottery's "Crossword" instant-scratch game.

Lindsay Stigen, 21, said she was home with her parents when she discovered her prize.

"I just kept getting more and more letters and I couldn't believe it," Stigen said. "I thought I only had nine words but we double-checked again and again!"

Stigen said once she realized what she'd won, she cried. She took her ticket back to Kum & Go, 400 Jackson St. in Olin, where she purchased it, to have it validated.

After confirming her win, Stigen called her sister to tell her the big news.

"She couldn't believe it," Stigen said.

Stigen, who is from Olin, said she plans to use some of her winnings to pay bills as well as purchase a newer vehicle. She claimed her prize Thursday at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

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