Decorah man wins $30,000 from the Iowa Lottery

"Randy" Rude of Decorah

A Decorah man had a hard time convincing his son that he'd won $30,000 from the Iowa Lottery this week.

Charles "Randy" Rude stopped Saturday at Kwik Star on Short Street in Decorah to redeem a winning scratch ticket.  He decided to put the winnings toward the purchase of a "30 Somethings" ticket.

"Went out to my vehicle and scratched it and it was a winner," Rude told Iowa Lottery employees Tuesday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's regional office in Mason City. "Looked at it about 10 times and took it back in and had it checked - $30,000!"

The first phone call Rude made was to his son, Brandon.  "He didn't believe me at first.  I finally convinced Brandon that it was a winner. I just sent enough messages that he finally believed me."

Rude said he plans to save a majority of his winnings.