Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Oil industry economists say a link between ending a 40-year oil export ban and lower prices at the gas pump is not as direct as Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush would have voters believe in his new energy proposal. Bush’s overall premise that lifting the ban would expand economic growth holds up to independent scrutiny. However, environmentalists say the negative impact on the planet would be too great.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A judge has granted a delay until at least mid-January for the trial of a 22-year-old man accused of killing his 3-week-old son in southeast Iowa. Randall Payne’s attorney, James Beres, asked a Des Moines County judge yesterday to postpone Payne’s trial, which had been scheduled to begin Oct. 13. He said he needs more time to prepare a defense. Payne has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge is upholding an Iowa law that requires the boards of corporations and labor unions to approve any money they spend to influence elections. U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt ruled yesterday that the board-approval requirement does not violate the right to free association or illegally restrain speech. He says the requirement lets the public know such spending is backed by the group and not “just an individual with access” to its bank account.

SERGEANT BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — More than 3,600 workers are helping construct a $2 billion fertilizer plant being built near Sioux City, and hundreds more workers will be hired soon. The Sioux City Journal reports that the workforce at the sprawling CF Industries plant is more than double what the company originally had planned. Project director Nick DeRoos says the construction peak will be in late October or early November, when more than 4,000 workers will be employed.