Iowa Woman Very Nearly Didn’t Win $2 Million Powerball Prize

This Iowa mom's kids couldn't go with her to claim the jackpot. They were too busy with something thousands of Iowa youth are doing this time of the year.

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Monday (7/10) night's Powerball drawing was an estimated $675 million, and even though there was no jackpot winner, an Iowa woman still became a millionaire. She didn't wait long to claim her prize, either.

Megan Balmer is from Garwin in central Iowa, northeast of Marshalltown.

Monday evening, Balmer and her boyfriend Mike Ellis were at a Casey's store in Gladbrook when they decided to buy an easy-pick ticket. The decision came just before sales were stopped for the drawing. Sales stop at 8:59 p.m. When the drawing happened at 9:59 p.m., Balmer won $2 million. It wouldn't be long before she realized her good fortune.

Balmer told the Iowa Lottery, "I had a ticket with multiple plays on it and I saw the numbers, and I double-checked on the website a couple times. And then I checked on the app and didn't quite believe what I was seeing. Then we called my stepmom and we went and checked it at another Casey's gas station and verified that it was a winner."

Tuesday, Balmer who is a 36-year-old nurse for a home healthcare company, was joined by Ellis at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. Balmer said her kids couldn't come along because her parents were helping her sons get livestock to the Tama County Fair. She shared with the lottery that "my oldest has a heifer, and my youngest is showing a chicken."

Balmer is 36 and works as a nurse for a home healthcare company. Even though she won the $2 million Monday night and claimed the cash on Tuesday she already had plans for the money: "To pay off the mortgage, my student loans from nursing school and credit card debt that I'd like to clear up. And I'll save some for retirement and my kids for their college. That's right around the corner, I'll blink and it will be there."

When she turned in the winning ticket Tuesday, Balmer had another thing in mind. She hopes her sons win at the Tama County Fair.

Tonight's estimated Powerball jackpot is $725 million. Remember to buy your tickets before 8:59 p.m. tonight. 9 p.m. is too late and as Megan Balmer proved, it can be life-changing.