State News Roundup: Michigan couple to swim across Lake Michigan to raise awareness for depression

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A couple from Grand Rapids Michigan plans to swim 50 miles across Lake Michigan, to raise people’s awareness of post-partum depression. Jeff and Sara Tow were both on their respective swim teams at Ohio State – and they suffered post-partum depression following the births of their two kids are now 11-and-9-years-old. They were planning to leave Two Rivers this morning, and swim to Ludington State Park in western Michigan. The Tows were hoping for a 48-hour window with good weather. Scattered thunderstorms were in the forecast for eastern Wisconsin this morning. But they’re supposed to clear out, and clear weather is predicted at least into Wednesday. Sara Tow, who’s 39, created a Web site in the hopes that more parents will openly discuss post-partum depression. 40-year-old Jeff Tow says you have to make a significant statement to get noticed sometimes and quote, “This is ours.” They’ve been training with swims of up to 20-miles. Jim Dreyer, who completed the same swim in 1998, plans to follow the couple on a tracking boat.

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A search began this morning for a 49-year-old man who fell from a boat into Lake Michigan in Racine County. Authorities said two men were boating off Zoo Beach in Wind Point, when one of them fell into the water. The other man informed police just after three a-m. He said he swam for about an hour before he made it to the shore. Rescuers from the Racine fire and sheriff’s departments were called, along with Coast Guard personnel and a chopper from Winthrop Harbor Illinois. They found the boat, but were still looking for the missing person at last word. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Dan Klatt said boating conditions appeared to be good at the time, and the waves were not high. Klatt said the boat was apparently owned by the missing man.

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Work crews at U-W Superior have repaired 95-percent of the damage from heavy floods in mid-June. Over six-inches of rain caused flooding in all campus buildings except a service center. The Jim Dan Hill Library had nine-feet of water at one point – and there were thousands of floating books that still need to be replaced. But the library itself re-opened last week, and the campus power plant will be test-fired in the next few days. Except for the missing books, facilities management director Tom Fennessey says students will not notice any lingering flood damage once classes resume in a couple weeks. U-W Superior Chancellor Renee Wachter credits the B-M-S Cat – a catastrophic recovery team – for rounding up the workers needed to make some fast repairs. The storm caused over 23-million-dollars in damage. But of it was covered by insurance, and federal disaster aid will cover three-fourths of about six-and-a-half million in uninsured damages. The library had about 150-thousand books. And around 22-thousand books that were on high shelves fared better than most, when they were freeze-dried in an attempt to recover them.

Tags: news, wisconsin