Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 2.3 million voters have already cast ballots for the November midterm elections, and both Republicans and Democrats are claiming the early voting numbers work to their advantage. In Iowa, where a Senate race will help determine which party controls the chamber in January, Democrats hold a narrow lead out of almost 200,000 ballots cast.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Iowa companies have received U.S. Department of Agriculture grants for research projects officials hope will lead to new technologies that advance agriculture. Small Business Innovation Grants were awarded to Harrisvaccines in Ames, which has recently developed a new vaccine for a pig virus; Agren Inc. in Carroll, a consultant that helps farmers deal with environmental issues; and Diamond V Mills in Cedar Rapids, which develops animal food. Each company receives more than $99,000.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — There’ll be more space for classrooms under an expansion at the Nahant Marsh Education Center in Davenport. The center is at a former contaminated marsh cleaned up more than a decade ago. From the late 1960s until the 1990s, Nahant Marsh was used for skeet and trap shooting by a sportsmen’s club. It led to the contamination of the marsh with lead shot that was cleaned up in 1999 under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program for $2 million.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he wants to make sure Iowa has great parks and cultural offerings for residents. The incumbent Republican governor, who is running for a sixth non-consecutive term, released a plan Monday he says would better organize the state’s recreation and cultural resources. He calls it a quality of life effort. Under the plan, the state would create an oversight board to coordinate the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Economic Development Authority, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation. That board would oversee quality of life efforts, as well as come up with a long-term plan for new investments.