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She thought she was going to be killed, but she was accidentally left on the floor of her sister's truck. It's there for a couple days.
West said she had not had a chance to check. She rifled through her purse and realized she did not have the ticket. She quickly called her sister, who found it.
West looked at the photo of the ticket her sister checked the numbers on the lottery's website – she had won!
"I told my sister to get in and get that and drive slow," West said in an Iowa Lottery press release.
New York split the $ 687 million Powerball Jackpot in the October 27 drawing. The holder of the New York ticket has not come forward, according to the Iowa Lottery.
West opted to take home $ 198.1 million in a lump sum, minus what's taken out in taxes. Her other option was a $ 343.9 million annuity that would be disbursed over 29 years. She is the winner of the largest lottery prize in Iowa.
This single mom is going to pay it forward
West was born and raised in Iowa, hailing from Earlham. Her father was a welder and her mother was a stay-at-home mom to West and her seven siblings.
She detassled corn and weeded bean fields to help support her family, she said. She earned a GED and she started a family soon after that.
West raised her daughters as a single mother, working in the insurance industry. She has six grandchildren. She would play the lottery twice a week when she could afford it.
West began working as a blueprint analyst for Blue Cross Wellmark and Blue Shield in September. After she won the lottery, she retired.
"I know that my life has changed forever," she said in between tears Monday. "I plan to make thoughtful and responsible decisions on giving to my friends, my family and setting up so that my grandchildren will have a college education."
The organization will give grants in Iowa and beyond, focusing on "poverty and hunger, education, animal welfare, and veteran affairs" according to its website.
While she's going to pay it forward, she's also going to help her family.
The first thing she's going to buy? A new car.
Her Ford Fiesta has 142,000 miles on it. She said she wants to buy a vehicle that can hold her grandchildren.
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