Someone who stopped for gas or coffee in Lake Elmo just got a lot luckier than they realized. A Powerball ticket worth $50,000 was sold at a Kwik Trip in the east metro city, the Minnesota Lottery confirmed Wednesday. The winner has not yet been identified and has one year from the drawing date to step forward and claim the cash. With the main jackpot still growing, the top prize in the next Powerball drawing is sitting in the hundreds of millions.
According to WJON, the Minnesota State Lottery verified that the $50,000 ticket was purchased at the Lake Elmo Kwik Trip. As outlined by the Minnesota Lottery, prizes above $50,000 have to be claimed in person at the Lottery’s Roseville headquarters, while smaller wins can be handled by mail or at regional offices. The Powerball website lists the next advertised jackpot at roughly $600 million for the upcoming drawing.
Kwik Trip Keeps Popping Up
That Lake Elmo ticket is not a one off. Kwik Trip locations have repeatedly surfaced this year as the spots where big winning tickets were sold around Minnesota. Earlier this spring, a Kwik Trip in Vadnais Heights rang up a seven-figure Powerball ticket, as detailed in a Hoodline piece on the $1 million Powerball payday. With that string of wins, local convenience stores have stayed in the spotlight while people dig through drawers, wallets and glove compartments in case they are sitting on a small fortune.
What Winners Should Know
If you think that Lake Elmo ticket is sitting on your counter, the first move is simple: sign the back right away, then double check the numbers through official channels before making any big decisions. The Minnesota Lottery advises winners of prizes above $50,000 to call ahead to schedule an appointment at its Roseville office. The agency also notes that winners’ names and cities are treated as private data unless they choose to opt in to publicity. Under state rules, there is a one year window from the drawing date to claim the prize.
