Branstad admitted to being "extremely surprised" to find the blue disk.
What makes it particularly sweet for him is that it happened on his birthday.
When asked what he was going to do with the windfall of $500, Branstad said, "spend the money on something fun."
Finding it was a sweet victory. He started participating in the Hutchinson Jaycee Water Carnival Medallion Hunt three or four years ago.
"(I did it) for fun," he said, "to get outside and enjoy the parks."
Last year, he and a friend came within 10 feet of finding the medallion. This year, it took him all of five minutes to claim the prize.
Branstad credited an advertisement for the medallion hunt as the key to pointing him in the right direction. The promotion said, "A Water Carnival Button is your 'license to hunt.'"
After reading it, he told his wife, Anita, "I bet it's in Elks Park."
He headed out Tuesday around noon and the rest, as they say, is history.
