(Radio Iowa) — The annual financial review of IPERS — the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System — was completed last week. IPERS C-E-O Donna Mueller says the report shows the pension system had 32-point-three billion dollars in assets on June 30th. “That’s after paying $2.1 billion in benefits for the past fiscal year. Of that amount, $1.8 million was paid to Iowans,”Mueller says. “We currently have…110,000 retirees.”

In total, about 360-thousand public employees who are retired — OR — are STILL working are IPERS members. “A misnomer — everyone thinks that it’s only state employees. No, state employees only make up 14 percent of the membership,” Mueller says. “Education continues to be over 50 percent.” The other public employees invested in IPERS are city and county employees. IPERS was established in 1953 to provide pension payments to public employees in Iowa.

Investments account for about 70 percent of the benefits paid out, according to Mueller. Actuaries calculate the net investment return in the past fiscal year was nearly eight percent.

(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.”

w/ Chris Parks

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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.

(Radio Iowa) — The director of the Iowa Department for the Blind says there is “rapid growth” in the number of Iowans who are losing their vision — and Emily Wharton is asking the governor and legislators to set aside 80-thousand dollars so she can hire another “independent living teacher.” Wharton already has a team of five teachers who travel the state, helping Iowans over the age of 55 who are losing their vision due to conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes.

“These folks are wanting to enjoy their retirement and finding it difficult to do a lot of the basic tasks in life,” she says. “They don’t know how to get around if they’re, maybe, unable to drive. They don’t know how to cook or clean their house safely, how use their technology to stay in touch with family and friends and how to really participate in activities that they enjoy and be a part of their community.”

The agency’s “independent living teachers” work with individuals, train small groups and seek out local volunteers who can provide support to Iowans in their communities who are suffering vision loss. Wharton says the goal is to keep people living independently in their own homes.  “If we can just keep one person from having to go into a nursing home or a really restrictive assisted care facility, we do end up saving quite a bit of money,” Wharton says.

The department recently changed the travel patterns for its independent living teachers. “Clients are grouped into geographical areas, so the teacher will go into a certain smaller geographical area for a period of four weeks and see each of those clients in that area once a week and this enables the clients to practice what they’re learning during that week and come back with questions and ideas,” Wharton says, “and we found that this really increases retention, reduces frustration and we’re seeing a lot quicker progress.”

An estimated 54-thousand Iowans currently have “low vision” and about eight-thousand of them have registered with the Iowa Department for the Blind. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine predicts the number of visually impaired Americans will double by 2050.

(Radio Iowa) — State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald says 273 Iowans who are intellectually or physically disabled have accounts in a relatively new state-run, tax-free savings program. Fitzgerald says a disabled person or a relative may contribute to an I-ABLE account. The money may be used a variety of things, like a specially-equipped vehicle or job training.

Many plan for the money to help a disabled adult son or daughter find somewhere to live after their parents pass away. Fitzgerald says nearly one-point-four million dollars has been invested in the program since it was established in early 2017 and a quarter of a million has been withdrawn. A disabled American usually loses their Social Security Disability and Medicaid benefits if they have more than two-thousand dollars in savings, but the I-Able program meets federal guidelines so that doesn’t happen. Iowa is among more than a dozen states with this kind of a savings program. Fitzgerald says I-Able gives those concerned about the well-being of a loved one the opportunity save for future disability-related expenses.

(Radio Iowa) — One of the priorities of the Iowa Association of School Boards in the new year is to get the legislature to pass an extension of the one-cent sales tax for infrastructure. Atlantic School Board vice president Kristy Pellett talked with other board members about how the tax has helped her district.”Mostly capital needs, technology. In our district of Atlantic it’s been an important resource and fund for us,” Pellet says. “We’ve spent over 15 million dollars on projects in Atlantic. Those have included H-V-A-C and L-E-D lighting improvements. The important part of that — that has increased our energy efficiency in the district — which saves dollars in the general fund.”

She says there are other projects where the fund has helped. “We have also utilized that to improve education and safety for our students,” she says. “One of those items was a one-to-one computer initiative. We’ve added elevators to three of our buildings using this fund. And most recently we purchased a building to house our alternative school.”

The penny tax is scheduled to end in 2029 and Pellett says they are pushing for an extension now because the tax helps ensure better bond rates for projects. “By extending that you allow that opportunity for districts to utilize that revenue with today’s expenses and bond against future proceeds,” Pellett explains.

Pellett says board members are aware of the tight funds in the state, but says this would extend a tax that has proven to be successful and is not creating something new. She says the money generated helps the entire community. There is a benefit even if you don’t have students in school right now. Those are public use facilities that are used for many, many activities other than just the education of our kids,” Pellett says.

Pellett encourages parents and community members to talk with their school boards to learn more about how the tax is used in their districts. She is encouraging school board members across the state to talk with local legislators about the importance of extending the tax.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person was injured trying to extinguish a house fire in Waterloo. The blaze was reported around 9:25 a.m. Thursday. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that residents tried to put out the blaze, which started in the basement and spread up through a wall to the attic.

Waterloo Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Troy Luck says the resident’s injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening. The person’s name hasn’t been released. The fire cause is being investigated.