Fighting, fleeing in Libya
Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya is holding on to control as Libyans flee the country, the New York Times said this morning.
 
"Libyans fleeing across the country’s western border to Tunisia reported fighting over the past two nights in the town of Sabratha, home of an important Roman archeological site 50 miles west of Tripoli. Reuters reported that thousands of Libyan forces loyal to Col. Qaddafi had deployed there.
 
'The revolutionary committees are trying to kill everyone who is against Qaddafi,' said a doctor from Sabratha who had just left the country, but who declined to give his name because he wanted to return," the story says.
 
"There were also reports of fighting in Misurata, a provincial center 130 miles to the west of the capital. A witness said that messages being broadcast from the loudspeakers of local mosques were urging people to attack the government’s opponents, following Colonel Qaddafi’s call in a defiant television address Tuesday night for citizens to assist in eliminating opponents of his regime. A local radio station that had been broadcasting opposition messages was reported to have been attacked."
 
New Chicago mayor
It's official: Chicago's new mayor, elected Tuesday, is Rahm Emmanuel.
 
"Mr. Emanuel, who will take office in May, won 55 percent of the vote against five other candidates. That allowed him to avoid a one-on-one runoff election in April that had been seen by some opponents as their best chance to defeat Mr. Emanuel. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, his closest competitor,Gery J. Chico, a former chief of staff to Mr. Daley, got 24 percent of the vote," the New York Times says today.
 
WSU study group safe
After New Zealand's earthquake, a Winona State University study group is safe, today's Winona Daily News says.
 
"The 30 WSU students and two faculty members have reported they are safe and currently in Queenstown, about 300 miles away away from Christchurch, where a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday, killing at least 75 people.
 
The travel study group left for the semester-long Pacific Challenge, which includes travel in New Zealand and Australia, on Jan. 19. The group was in Christchurch as recently as three days ago, with students in the Tourism Planning class investigating the impact on local tourism of a September 2010 earthquake in Christchurch.  At this time there are no plans to adjust the program’s itinerary, which includes a return trip to Christchurch before departure from New Zealand."
 
Manufacturing outlook brighter
Minnesota manufacturers say business conditions are getting better.
 
"The State of Manufacturing report revealed increased optimism about the economy and companies' prospects for higher sales and profits this year. It was released by Enterprise Minnesota, a nonprofit consulting organization that works mostly with small and medium-sized manufacturers," a story in today's Star Tribune says.
 
The survey found 40 percent of executives anticipating economic expansion in 2011, with only 9 percent forecasting recession. Two years ago just 8 percent of respondents said they expected the economy to expand, while 56 percent said they anticipated recession. Most seem to believe the manufacturing has moved beyond a period of simply restocking customers' inventories and into a period of sustained growth."
 
'Life of the Mind'
A man named Monte Bute is sharing his personal experience with illness to teach.
 
"Bute has terminal cancer, and he' been using his personal perspective to enlighten students on the process of death and dying in a class called Life of the Mind," Minnesota Public Radio says in a feature this morning.
 
Tea art
Ever wondered about Mandala Tea in Winona? We have a feature up explaining more about the local busniess.
 
"Co-owners Garret Sorensen and Sarah Crawford—both also massage therapists—believe that drinking tea is an experience of sight, smell and taste, as well as an overall total body experience, which they try to create during each interaction with a customer and each class they host in the Winona community."