Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:15 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Six years after Iowa voters overwhelmingly elected Joni Ernst to the U.S. Senate, the Republican is in a tight contest with Democrat Theresa Greenfield in one of the nation’s most expensive races. The two candidates had more than $170 million for spending on media as parties and interest groups poured money into the race. Greenfield has called for a more effective response to the coronavirus pandemic, emphasized health care and her support for expanding the Affordable Care Act and promised to protect Social Security. Ernst has pointed to her support of tax cuts enacted by Republicans and President Donald Trump and argued she’s willing to work with Democrats on issues such as infrastructure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa voters are expected to cast ballots in record numbers for an election that will determine competitive races for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and state Legislature. Nearly a million people have cast absentee ballots, and it’s likely that more than half of the votes cast will have come before Election Day. Early voting has been gaining in popularity for years, and the movement was turbocharged this year by concerns about voting at polling places at a time when coronavirus cases continue to increase. Early voters broke earlier records a week before Election Day, with 64% of active Democratic voters and 42% of Republicans requesting an absentee ballot.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state panel on Monday approved a settlement between Iowa State University and a former Iowa 4-H director who was fired after a dispute over a proposed policy he supported that discouraged discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender. The settlement with John-Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas calls for the state to pay out $550,000. Of that money, $60,000 will go to Chaisson-Cárdenas, $270,000 into an annuity for his benefit and $220,000 to his lawyer. The settlement approved by the State Appeal Board also changes Chaisson-Cárdenas’ departure in university records from a termination to a voluntary resignation. Chaisson-Cárdenas was fired Aug. 2, 2018, months after conservative groups criticized and LGBT groups supported a suggested 4-H LGBTQ inclusion policy.

UNDATED (AP) — The number of people being treated for the coronavirus in Iowa hospitals continued to soar, prompting doctors and hospital officials to warn their facilities and staff could be overwhelmed without serious efforts to curtail the virus spread.. Data from the Iowa Department of Public Health indicated 1,469 new confirmed cases Monday and 17 additional deaths reported in the past 24 hours. That follows a weekend in which more than 2,800 new cases were reported each day. Iowa’s seven-day average rate of positive coronavirus tests is now third in the nation behind South Dakota and Wyoming. Health care professionals say increased hospitalizations typically follow higher positive case rates, an indication that Iowa hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.