Two Dubuque County Residents Win Lottery Prizes

Dubuque County has seen a couple Lottery winners over the past couple weeks.

A Farley restaurant owner bought an InstaPlay lottery ticket for the first time ever and won a prize of more than $20,000.

Brian Schroeder’s jackpot win in the “Cherry Twist Progressive” InstaPlay game came on a ticket he bought at Silker’s in Epworth. Schroeder owns Bill’s Tap and had stopped at the store to buy groceries for his restaurant. After completing his transaction, a comment from Larry Silker, one of the store’s co-owners, encouraged Schroeder to buy a ticket after giving him back about two dollars in change.

The Cherry Twist Progressive game features a jackpot that starts at $2,000 and increases with every ticket sold statewide until it’s won. The jackpot had been climbing for more than a month before Schroeder won.

Schroeder, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he plans to put part of his winnings toward some fishing trips down south. 

And a Bernard man who had just proposed to his girlfriend won $400,000.

31-year old Nick Miller says his fiancée, Lauren Timmerman, accepted his marriage proposal on June 23rd – and then the next morning, he stopped to pick up breakfast at Casey’s in Cascade.

He won the Super 7s Progressive Instaplay progressive jackpot of just over $390,000. The big prize had been growing for more than two months to reach that level. Its jackpot starts at $50,000 and increases with each ticket sold statewide until it is won.

Miller, who farms with his family and works at Rail-Way Inc., a Cascade company that produces railroad crossings, says his win is a good way to start an engagement with a wedding and a house to work on.

photos courtesy of Iowa Lottery