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Minnesota Lottery officials visited Albert Lea’s Shell Food Mart Thursday to celebrate reaching $1 million in lottery sales for the first time ever during the latest fiscal year.  

Shell Food Mart joins 22 other retailers around the state that have passed the million-dollar milestone for the first time and contributed to another record-setting year for the lottery. 

Minnesota Lottery sales topped $803.6 million during fiscal year 2021 and returned a record $188.8 million to the state to support vital state services and environmental projects serving every county in Minnesota.  

According to Emily Frost, with public affairs for the Minnesota Lottery, the milestone wouldn’t have been possible without store manager Lesa Colvin, who does a good job keeping scratch games well stocked and who knows her customers preferred games and price points. 

She said the retailer participates in as many promotions as possible. They ran two major buy-and-get promotions during the 2021 fiscal year, which sold out in days. The staff also gets behind the promotions and makes them fun for customers. 

The store paid out $617,000 in prizes during the 2021 fiscal year and generated $241,600 for Minnesota’s beneficiaries during the same period.