Friends share Powerball jackpot win, keeping 1992 promise

Wisconsin friends sharing lottery win, keeping 1992 promise

Associated Press

MENOMONIE, Wis. – A western Wisconsin man will share his millions in lottery winnings with a longtime friend because of a promise they made to each other nearly three decades ago.

Friends Tom Cook and Joseph Feeney shook hands in 1992 and promised that if either one of them ever won the Powerball jackpot, they would split the money.

That promise came to fruition last month when Cook bought the winning ticket for a $22 million jackpot at Synergy Coop in Menomonie.

When Cook called to give his friend the good news, Feeney couldn’t quite believe it.

“He called me, and I said, ‘are you jerking my bobber?’” said Feeney, an avid fisherman.

Cook retired after hitting the jackpot while Feeney was already retired. Neither has any extravagant plans for the winnings, but both are looking forward to enjoying more family time.

“We can pursue what we feel comfortable with. I can’t think of a better way to retire,” Cook said. The pair said they’re looking forward to some traveling.

The men chose the cash option of about $16.7 million, leaving each with nearly $5.7 million after taxes are paid. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in about 292 million.

Police: Fatal shooting erupts over masks

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at an auto shop after a man who refused to wear a mask allegedly tried to run over the shop owner’s son and crashed into a vehicle before driving off.

An incident report written by The Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies said as they were searching for the man, they received a call from the shop owner saying the man had returned and that his son had shot someone.

Deputies found two men on the ground. One didn’t have a pulse.

Albuquerque police have taken over the investigation. Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos declined to release more details about Tuesday afternoon’s shooting, saying detectives were interviewing additional people.

“The investigation is still in its preliminary stage,” he said Thursday.

The initial incident report indicated the man had stopped at the auto shop and asked for air for his tire, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The owner said he told the man that he could help him but that he needed to have a mask on and the man became “extremely irate.”