Illinois & Iowa Are Two Of The Most Unluckiest States In America

We're all trying to get lucky. Yes, in that way, but just in general too. Finding the "Luck of the Irish" ahead of St. Patrick's Day may be impossible for you. Why is that? In Illinois and Iowa, luck is hard to come by.

The two states that make up the Quad Cities are two of the unluckiest states in America because people can't seem to win. How do we determine how lucky a state is compared to another one? We looked to see which states have more Powerball jackpot lottery winners than others.

Illinois Is Very Unlucky

Compared to the luckiest state in America (that's Indiana by the way), Illinois isn't even close to being lucky.

Since Powerball began in 1992, Indiana has had 39 winners. That's more than 19 times more wins than the state of Illinois, according to World Population Review. Yes, Illinois has had only 2 Powerball winners.

Those two Powerball jackpot winners happened in the 2010s, according to portalseven.com. Combined they won $87.5 million.

Iowa Is Luckier Than Illinois

Across the Mississippi River in Iowa, things get a little luckier. Since Powerball began in 1992, Iowa has had only 9 Powerball winners.

The last Powerball jackpot winner in Iowa was back in 2018. Lerynne West of Redfield, IA won $343,900,000, according to the Iowa Lottery.

he Luckiest and Unluckiest States

As mentioned before, Indiana is the luckiest state since it has the most Powerball jackpot winners. Here are the luckiest states in the U.S. according to jackpocket.com:

Indiana - 39
Missouri - 31
Minnesota - 22
Pennsylvania - 19
Wisconsin - 19
Kentucky - 18
Louisiana - 17
Florida - 16
Arizona - 14
California - 14

The unluckiest states are the 5 states that can't play Powerball at all, according to The Hill. They include:

Alabama
Alaska
Hawaii
Nevada
Utah

We wish you nothing but luck this St. Patrick's Day.

Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.

Gallery Credit: Connor Kenney/Townsquare Media Quad Cities

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