(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Lottery went to a process requiring winners to make an appointment to pick up their prizes as a precaution during the pandemic. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says they’ve been evaluating things as restrictions are removed and will stay with that process. “We’re going to keep that by appointments process as we move ahead…folks are welcome to wear a mask if they want to, they certainly don’t have to,” Neubauer says. She says the appointment process has proven to be popular. “For the public, they like knowing that they have a specific time to come in and claim a prize,” according to Neubauer. “And it helps for us at the lottery just for a planning purpose.”

The Iowa Lottery follows the Iowa D-O-T — which has gone to an appointment-only process for driver’s licenses after a pilot program that the agency says was well received. Neubauer says they will continue to have stations with sanitizer and masks available. She says they are available near all the doors of offices and everyone is welcome to use them if they want. To make a prize-claim appointment, you should call the lottery office where you want to claim your prize to schedule a time and receive other details, including the documentation you will need to have with you.

Iowa Lottery prizes up to 600 dollars in lotto, InstaPlay and instant-scratch games may be redeemed at any lottery retailer location in the state if sufficient funds are available. All prizes of more than 250-thousand dollars must be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive.

A man on a motorcycle who attempted to elude law enforcement Monday afternoon in western Iowa, crashed and was transported to a hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports 22-year-old Matthew Valverde, of Omaha, was operating a 2003 Yamaha YZF6R, when he failed to negotiate a curve just north of County Road G-14 on L-20, in Pottawattamie County.

The cycle went off the road and into the west ditch before coming to rest. The accident happened at around 4:48-p.m. The Patrol says Valverde was transported by Missouri Valley Rescue to Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha. The Patrol was assisted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri Valley Police and Mo. Valley Rescue.

(Radio Iowa) Lawmakers in the state of Nevada have passed a bill they hope puts a Nevada PRIMARY ahead of Iowa’s Caucuses in 2024. If Nevada’s governor signs the bill into law, it sets up a political fight. Iowa’s Caucuses have been the nation’s first test for presidential candidates for decades. New Hampshire law requires that state to host the nation’s first primary. Any change in the positioning of presidential primaries and caucuses requires approval from the two major political parties.

Iowa Democrats AND Republicans have fended off challenges from Michigan, Louisiana and Florida. Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump have favored keeping the primary and caucus system they traversed to get to the White House in place for their re-election campaigns. But delayed results from Iowa’s 2020 Caucuses and complaints about a lack of diversity in Iowa and New Hampshire have fueled a debate among Democrats about re-ordering events in the party’s presidential nominating process.

Some Iowa Democrats have argued the Caucuses are a distraction and the party would be better off if the Caucuses are cancelled. Iowa Republican Party leaders say the G-O-P has no plans to abandon the Caucuses. A handful of Republicans who are considering a run for the White House in 2024 have already made trips to Iowa this year or have announced appearances here this summer.