(Radio Iowa) — It’s smart policy for Iowans to keep their smartphones locked with a password or a fingerprint, according to consumer protection advocate Michelle Reinen. She says having an unlocked phone is one step from having your identity stolen. Even if unlocking the phone takes a few extra seconds, Reinen says it’s worthwhile to secure it.

Reinen says, “While it can be an inconvenience, it’s really hard to argue that inconvenience against the valuable data those devices hold.” Smartphones, for many of us, provide access to a large portion of our lives, from banking information to our personal communications and our social interactions. “You want to make sure that people can’t get into the device and get all your contacts and email messages and if you have a password app, those types of things that can sit on those devices,” she says.

If you have a work-issued business phone, safeguarding it can be crucial to keeping company data secure. “That’s certainly a larger larger consideration beyond the identity theft and the cyber scams that are out there, and worth consideration as well,” she says. If your phone has the fingerprint technology for locking, use it. If you prefer a passcode, be sure to use a number that’s not easily guessed, like a birth date, and never use four zeros.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One of the last one-screen movie theaters in the Des Moines area will soon close. The Des Moines Register reports the Varsity Theatre in the Drake Neighborhood will close next month.

Owner Denise Mahon announced Friday on the Varsity’s Facebook page that the theater across the street from Drake University will close after the Sunday matinees Dec. 30. Mahon’s father bought the theater in 1954 with a partner and became sole owner in 1975.

Denise Mahon started running the theater in 2009, when her father died. Mahon declined an interview request but called it “a very nostalgic day and difficult decision.”

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 32-year-old Gordon Thomas Ryan of Dubuque at 12:20am early Saturday on the east side of the Highway 34 and Highway 48 intersection. He was charged with OWI 1st Offense. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Lottery C-E-O Terry Rich says due to recent “jackpot runs” for Powerball and Mega Millions, Iowa Lottery sales and profits are running about a month ahead of projections. “We’re still, per capita, are in the middle in the number of dollars spent per person,” Rich says. “You go to the east coast, it’s probably three or four times per person what they spend on lottery and gaming than what we do in Iowa.” A recent one-and-a-half BILLION dollar Mega Millions jackpot was won by a player in South Carolina.

A woman in Redfield, Iowa, recently claimed half of a nearly 690-million dollar jackpot for the October 27th Powerball drawing. Rich says “jackpot fatigue” is a concern, as players now expect those huge prizes. “Used to be at $10 million we had lines out the door,” Rich says. “Now, it’s probably $400 million before even the press start taking a look at it.” Rich delivered a financial report to the governor last week.

Officials project the Iowa Lottery will submit 70 million dollars in profits to the state treasury in the next budgeting year. About 24-hundred Iowa retailers sell Lottery products. Those retailers will be paid about 22-million dollars in commissions, according to Rich. Despite all the chatter about the multi-state jackpot games of Powerball and Mega Millions, the Iowa Lottery consistently makes more from sales of scratch games.