Today’s quick hits, Jan 31, 2024

Navy veteran challenges Klobuchar: Political newcomer Joe Fraser, a retired Navy commander, said he would base his Republican campaign against third-term Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on border security, inflation, and the national debt. (MPR News)

America’s prison farms: Prison labor is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars of agricultural products that are sold on the open market, sometimes by the world’s largest food companies, according to a two-year investigation. (Associated Press)

POET joins Summit pipeline: The largest U.S. ethanol producer, POET, said its 17 plants in Iowa and South Dakota would join Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed 2,000-mile pipeline to collect carbon dioxide from customers in five Midwestern states for injection in North Dakota. (POET)

Land bill advances in Indiana: On an 11-0 vote, the state House Agriculture Committee approved a bill that would prohibit acquisition of Indiana agricultural land by purchasers from U.S.-designated adversarial nations. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Wastewater jurisdiction upheld: A Calumet County judge ruled that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was empowered to require large dairy farms to prevent manure from polluting water, contrary to a lawsuit that said wastewater permits exceeded state law. (Wisconsin Public Radio)