(Des Moines, Iowa/Radio Iowa) – A 53-year-old health care worker from Webster City claimed a one-million dollar Powerball prize on Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. Lynne Kannuan says she bought the ticket at a local grocery store for the drawing back on August 5th and stuffed it in her purse. While she usually waits weeks before checking for any winners, that wasn’t the case this time. Kannuan says, “The following day, my best friend from Arkansas had messaged me on Facebook, and she said, ‘Somebody from Fareway in Webster City won the Powerball ticket. Did you buy a ticket from there? Check your ticket, if you did,’ and I’m like, ‘Umm, okay, what time and what Fareway?'” Kannuan dug out the ticket, got online and verified she’d indeed matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball.

She says, “I had to check the numbers twice to make sure, and then I got up slowly, walked straight to my boss’s office, and I said, ‘Umm,’ and she goes, ‘What? What’s going on, Lynne?’ and I’m like, ‘I think I won a million dollars.'” Kannuan told her husband about the win right away, but then they stayed quiet for about six weeks as they consulted with a lawyer and financial planner, before coming in to claim the prize. How will the winnings be spent?

Lynne Kannuan (IA Lottery photo)

“My plan is to pay off some bills, invest some, and then maybe give a little to my siblings,” Kannuan says, “then upgrade my car.” Kannuan and her husband both immigrated to the United States from Laos as children.

Three other Iowans, including Danny Buckelew, of Treynor,  have claimed Powerball prizes worth at least $1 million this year. Prizes of $1 million must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

(Iowa News Service) – Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a material as thin as an atom to reduce power consumption.
A national study showed by 2030, 9% of the country’s energy will be consumed by data centers, keeping the internet, AI applications and other technology humming.

Matthew Panthani, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Iowa State University, and his team are focused on using light rather than heat to generate power for the data centers sprouting up close to home. “Iowa seems to be a popular place to build data centers,” Panthani observed. “Meta and other companies have built data centers, even in the Des Moines area. They’re taking advantage of the relatively low electricity prices afforded by wind energy.”

Panthani’s lab is focused on developing atom-thin sheets of a silicon-germanium alloy which are stacked in layers and used to create highly energy efficient semiconductors, which can be used in power-hungry data centers. Using light to transmit data is not new. Companies have used fiber optic technology to transmit light across oceans, for example. But Panthani pointed out doing it on a much smaller scale, such as between components on the computer chips in data centers, is something quite different.

“That’s really because there isn’t a material that can enable scalable, on-chip light sources,” Panthani explained. “The materials that we’re developing are intended to have properties, both the manufacturability and properties, that could enable that.”

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the internet’s 5.3 billion users can demand as much power as 800,000 households. It will sharply increase this decade, sending the demand even higher and making new technology like this even more important.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa banker says there’s too much red tape in federal disaster recovery programs. Gus Barker is president and C-E-O of First Community Bank in Newell. “Disaster victims are in no position to complete that excessive paperwork,” Barker says. Barker testified this (Wednesday) afternoon at a hearing of the U-S Senate Small Business Committee. He told senators about helping a customer, who was a victim of the historic floods of 1993, complete a Small Business Administration loan application.

“We could not have completed that application without the support of the local SBA office,” Barker said. “Regretably since that time, SBA scaled back its presence in Iowa and applications are now approved in San Francisco, a distance which makes coordination much more challenging.” Barker says direct lending from the Small Business Administration and other federal programs have played a key role in the survival of disaster stricken businesses and he’s urging the agency to make changes.

Gus Barker, president and CEO of First Community Bank in Newell, testifies at Washington, D.C. hearing.

“SBA is known to file liens far in excess of the loan amount to secure their mortgages. These liens tie up their collateral and prevent a community bank from helping the borrower in any way in the future,” Barker says. “SBA should be willing to subordinate their loans in the way that USDA has, for example.” Barker says disaster victims should also be able to package federal benefits offered by different agencies — like a S-B-A loan and a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“Neither of which is adequate in itself in the rebuilding,” Barker says. “Today, a victim must choose one or the other. It’s too much to ask for disaster victims to learn the details of those programs and make an informed judgment of what to do.”

Barker, who has worked in his family-owned bank for 47 years, is on the Independent Community Bankers of America board of directors.

(Radio Iowa) – A proposal from Iowa State University to create bachelors degree in Game Design received approval from a Board of Regents committee today (Wednesday) I-S-U Associate Provost Ann Marie VanDerZanden says demand for the program has been growing. “Interest for the degree on campus is strong. Currently, Iowa State courses focus on games and game design frequently reach their enrollment capacities, and the university’s game development club engages over 650 students,” she says.

VanDerZanden says there are a couple of businesses where graduates could work in Iowa, and the degree could bring more. “Becasue we know many businesses prefer to locate where there is available talent, having this degree could actually bring some of these companies to our state. The proposed degree in game design would be the first among the regents institutions,” VanDerZanden says. VanDerZanden says there is an opportunity to attract transfer students from some community colleges.

“For example, western Iowa Technical Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College offer associate’s degree in game design. Marshalltown Community College offers an E- Sports Program Management degree,” she says. “And we feel that both of these would be opportunities if students choose to pursue a four-year degree, that our degree would be attractive to them.” The projections show the major would grow rapidly.

“We expect an initial enrollment of 30 students majoring in game design, growing quickly to 240 students in four years,” VanDerZanden says. VanDerZanden says there would be no additional cost I-S-U as the instructors in the current courses would handle the courses in the major.

The full Board of Regents is expected to approve the major Thursday in the second day of their meeting.

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Federal health officials say a Utah company is recalling thousands of boxes of waffles as they may contain foreign objects. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the recall as “Class II” on Sept. 13 of a voluntary recall from Kodiak Cakes LLC, based out of Park City UT, for 7,300 boxes of its 40-count “Kodiak Protein-Packed Power Waffles, Buttermilk & Vanilla.”

The recall, which was initially issued in August, was initiated “due to the potential presence of soft plastic film,” Kodiak said in a letter sent to consumers who may have been impacted. The recall is designated at a “Class II” status, meaning the waffles may cause adverse health reactions if consumed.

According to the letter, impacted packages have UPC code ‘7 05599 01920 3’ on their boxes, expire on Jan. 1, 2026, and a time stamp of 12:00-23:00. The recalled waffles were sold at Costco warehouses in the Midwest between July 15 and August 25, Kodiak said in its letter.

The FDA notice shows the waffles were distributed to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. No other Kodiak products are impacted, and only boxes with this UPC code and expiration date are included in the recall.

If you still have any unused boxes of the recalled waffles in your freezer, Kodiak said to take them to your local Costco for a full refund. You can also contact Kodiak via email at flapjacks@kodiakcakes.com or phone at 801-328-4067.