Michelle VandeZande had been waiting for what happened to her on April 28 “for years.”

That’s the day the Austin resident won the $61,682 Northstar Cash jackpot.

As VandeZande was making supper that evening, she decided to check the Northstar Cash ticket she bought about 40 minutes before that evening’s drawing at Kwik Trip, 1509 10th Place NE in Austin. Looking at the winning winners (9-10-21-23-27), she thought they looked like the numbers she picked — a combination of family member birthdays.

“I was running around the house yelling, ‘I think I won!’” VandeZande said in a press release.

She immediately took the ticket to a lottery retailer to verify the win.

“The clerk ran it and looked at it for 30 seconds,” VandeZande said in the release. “She asked me, ‘Why are you not crying?’”

The winning ticket was purchased in Austin.

VandeZande claimed the prize on April 29.

Another Mower winner

Ignacio Chavez of Austin won $10,000 playing the Crazy Cash game. Chavez claimed the prize on May 2. Ankeny Mini Mart, 1400 NW 14th St. in Austin, sold the winning ticket.