Minnesota’s Biggest Lottery Winners
Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it could be called the land of 10,000 lottery winners just as well! Not all MN lottery winners won big lottery prizes but this title certainly honors those who did.
In this article, we’ve listed notable stories of Minnesota lottery winners. When you order lottery tickets online at TheLotter Minnesota, you have a chance of winning huge Minnesota lottery prizes; will we be adding the amazing story of YOUR jackpot win next?
Michael Hawes, $47 Million, Powerball Jackpot, November 1, 2006
Michael Hawes of Lakeville kept his lottery ticket in his wallet for over a month until he finally checked it. He learned he had won half of the $94.1 million jackpot. “I brought it to New York and wandered around the streets of New York with it,” he said at a news conference at the Minnesota State Lottery headquarters. “I had no idea.” “We also had a fortune cookie that said luck is on its way,” they said. Their luck arrived in a Powerball draw.
‘The Happy Huskers,’ $95.4 Million, Powerball Jackpot, October 25, 2003
Sixteen women, all of them employees at Holdingford High School – 15 school cooks and one custodian – had been contributing 25 cents from each paycheck to participate in the Minnesota Powerball draw since 1990. This time it paid off, big time. They held one of two winning tickets for a $190.9 million Powerball jackpot.
The women’s syndicate, known as the ‘Happy Huskers’ after their school mascot, posted the ticket on a bulletin board, as they had done with every previous ticket they purchased. When they realized it could be the winner, they hurried to find the key to open the school. One of the women said, “We had to verify it and we checked the newspapers and the local radio station and then we pulled up the Web site on the computer. And, by George! It all matched.”
David and Mary Beth Wenell, $98.7 Million, Powerball Jackpot, August 14, 2004
David Wenell bought a Powerball ticket at a Cub Foods store in Eden Prairie and left it on a dresser before heading with his wife to their cabin in northern Minnesota. They checked the ticket when they came home and learned it was the only one to win the jackpot. After he claimed the prize, David said “I guess I’m a dreamer. I usually fail at this – every week, actually. It’s not a bad investment. It’s fun. Everybody needs to dream.” He had been spending an average of $1 every week over the last 10 years on lottery games.
Paul White, $149 Million, Powerball Jackpot, August 7, 2013
Paul White, a project engineer from Ham Lake, was one of three winners of a $448 million Powerball jackpot. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times. You almost feel like it’s coming true.” He said, “I kind of thought I’d win someday … I think a lot of good things are going to come out of this for not only my family and friends but for random people … I don’t want to work for anybody else for the rest of my life for a paycheck.” It looks like his dream came true!
Paul and Sue Rosenau, $180.1 Million, Powerball Jackpot, May 3, 2008
The Rosenaus from Waseca won the Powerball jackpot on the fifth anniversary of the death of their granddaughter, Makayla. The 2-year-old had suffered from Krabbe disease, a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system. Instead of splurging, the couple decided to use some of their winnings to start a nonprofit to fund research into finding a treatment for the rare disease, which affects about one in 100,000 newborns. “We are faithful people,” Sue told People magazine, “and we definitely believe this is God telling us what we do.”
Following their granddaughter’s diagnosis, they also learned that another genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis, also ran in the family. This realization inspired them to broaden the mission of their foundation, expanding beyond the search for a Krabbe cure to improving the lives of those affected by both conditions. Within 18 months of winning the lottery, the couple left their jobs to dedicate themselves full-time to this meaningful cause.
Thomas and Kathleen Morris, $228.9 Million, Powerball Jackpot, August 10, 2011
Over the years, the Minnesota Powerball winners’ list has grown steadily. In addition to the winners listed above, some of the state’s winners include Farrah Slad of Brainerd ($150 million in June 1999); Sheryel Hanuman of Minneapolis (one-fourth of a $295 million prize- $73.7 million- in August 2001); John and Sandy Wynne of Oakdale ($61.1 million in October 1999); Keith and Carol Goergen of Elgin (one-third of a $150.1 million jackpot in March 2000); and Ron and Jenny Cronkhite of Moorhead ($49.2 million in September 1998).
Headline-Grabbing Mega Millions Wins From Minnesota
While Mega Millions lottery has been offered in the state since 2010, no winner came up until 2022. The first ever Mega Millions in Minnesota jackpot-winning ticket was purchased on April 12th, 2022, by a couple who made use of the state’s lottery privacy laws to stay anonymous after winning the lottery. Amazingly enough, the couple actually met 30 years earlier, and had their first date the same day that Minnesota first started selling lottery scratch tickets. During their date they bought some tickets together, and they’ve been playing those same numbers ever since. After three decades of waiting, their patience finally paid off and they won a $110 million jackpot! As they selected the cash option for receiving their prize money, the couple became $66 million richer – isn’t this just the perfect love story?
Minnesota’s Next Big Winner Could Purchase Their Tickets Online
These days, Minnesotans can get official Minnesota Lottery tickets from anywhere in the state by placing their orders at TheLotter Minnesota.
Many ordinary Minnesotans became multi-millionaires overnight by joining lottery draws online; get your shot at winning big prizes today, and you may wake up a Mega Millions MN winner tomorrow!
