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AP top news in Iowa at 4:58 p.m. CDT

Associated Press

6:01 PM EDT, October 7, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa - Though the election is still a month away, nearly 200,000 Iowans have already cast their ballots and the pace of early voting is likely to quicken beginning this week, election officials said.

Still, the pace of early voting isn't keeping pace with the election four years ago when groups such as MoveOn.org made absentee voting a centerpiece of their strategy.

"That's not taking place like it did four years ago," said Secretary of State Michael Mauro, the state's top election official.

Four years ago, 460,059 people cast ballots before the election, nearly a third of the 1,506,008 who voted. As of Monday afternoon, 191,718 had cast ballots, but a shift in political strategy could swell that number quickly.

Local election officials opened satellite voting operations on Monday, allowing voters to cast ballots at libraries, community centers and other spots. They have reported brisk business.

"As far as the Democrats, they are focusing on satellite voting," said Mauro.

Brad Anderson, a spokesman for Obama's Iowa campaign, said there are more than 140 satellite voting locations around the state, and neighborhoods surrounding the stations have been targeted with direct mail and door-knocking campaigns, telling residents where they can vote early.

------ FAA blames Iowa City crash on engine failure

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration says engine failure was the likely cause of a small plane crash in front of a house in Iowa City.

Authorities say pilot James Meade was injured when his plane crashed as it headed for the Iowa City airport about 8:15 p.m. Monday night in a neighborhood on the west side of town. He was the only person on board.

Meade was in serious condition Tuesday at University Hospitals.

Police say the single-engine Cessna 150 ended up nose down in the street. No one on the ground was hurt, and there was no damage to homes.

The FAA investigation is ongoing

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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/

------ Poet gets $76 million for cellulosic production

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Poet LLC will receive $76.3 million in federal funding to begin producing fuel from corn cobs and fiber, the nation's top ethanol producer said Tuesday.

Privately held Poet said it will expand capacity from 50 million to 125 million gallons per year at its corn ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, with about 25 million gallons made from plant waste typically left behind in farmers' fields.

With the added cellulosic production, a bushel of corn will produce 11 percent more ethanol per bushel of corn, and 27 percent more per acre of corn, Poet said.

"Grain based ethanol has been and will continue to be an important part of our country's energy supply," Jeff Broin, Poet's chief executive, said in a statement. "By pairing the production of cellulosic ethanol with our existing infrastructure of corn-based ethanol, we will continue to improve corn ethanol and accelerate the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol."