Midland, Michigan

Midland, Michigan
City of Midland
—  City  —
Location of Midland, Michigan
Coordinates: 43°36′56″N 84°14′50″W / 43.61556°N 84.24722°W / 43.61556; -84.24722Coordinates: 43°36′56″N 84°14′50″W / 43.61556°N 84.24722°W / 43.61556; -84.24722
Country United States
State Michigan
Counties Midland, Bay
Incorporation 1887
Government
 – Type Council-Manager
 – Mayor Maureen Donker
 – City Manager Jon Lynch
Area
 – City 35.0 sq mi (90.5 km2)
 – Land 33.2 sq mi (86.0 km2)
 – Water 1.7 sq mi (4.5 km2)
 – Urban 30.69 sq mi (79.48 km2)
Elevation 636 ft (193 m)
Population (2010)
 – City 41,863
 – Density 1,254.9/sq mi (484.5/km2)
 – Urban 49,387
 – Metro 82,874
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 – Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 48640-48686
Area code(s) 989
FIPS code 26-53780[1]
GNIS feature ID 0632282[2]
Website http://www.midland-mi.org/

Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County.[3] While the vast majority of the city exists within Midland County, a small portion of the city extends into Bay County. Most of the city's area is incorporated from Midland Township. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of the city in Bay County is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area for statistical reasons.

The Dow Chemical Company was founded in Midland in 1897. Its world headquarters are still located there. Through the influence of a Dow Chemical plant opening in Handa, Aichi, Japan, Midland and Handa have become sister cities.[4] The Dow Corning Corporation and Chemical Bank are also headquartered in Midland. The city was also named #4 Best Small Town to raise a family in by Forbes Magazine.[5]

Contents

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 41,685 people, 16,743 households, and 11,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,254.9 per square mile (484.5/km²). There were 17,773 housing units at an average density of 535.0 per square mile (206.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.38% White, 1.82% African American, 0.29% Native American, 2.69% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.92% of the population.

There were 16,743 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,444, and the median income for a family was $64,949. Males had a median income of $53,208 versus $31,098 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,818. About 5.5% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Scheduled airline service is available from MBS International Airport[6] near Freeland and Flint's Bishop International Airport.[7] The Jack Barstow Municipal Airport, dedicated May 30, 1936, is a general aviation airport operated by the city and available for private planes.[8]

There is no regularly scheduled public transportation (bus service). Residents can call in advance to schedule pickup for transport within the county by two government sponsored agencies ("Dial-A-Ride" within the city, "County Connection" for those outside the city of Midland but still within Midland County) for a nominal fee.[9]

A limited number of taxicab companies operate in the city, but must be requested by phone.

US 10.svg
 US 10, a freeway passing through near the northern edge of Midland, connects with Bay City on the east Clare and Ludington (as a two-lane highway) to the west.
Business plate.svg
US 10.svg
 BUS US 10 is a loop route through the downtown.
M-20.svg
 M-20 connects Midland with Mount Pleasant and Big Rapids to the west.
M-30.svg
 M-30 runs northerly from nearby Sanford to West Branch.
M-47.svg
 M-47 links from US-10 east of the city to Saginaw and MBS International Airport.

Geography

Topography

  • According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.0 square miles (90.5 km²), of which, 33.2 square miles (86.0 km²) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.5 km²) of it (4.95%) is water.
  • Midland is part of the Flint/Tri-Cities.

Climate

Climate data for Midland, Michigan
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 61
(16)		 65
(18)		 79
(26)		 91
(33)		 95
(35)		 104
(40)		 106
(41)		 104
(40)		 98
(37)		 89
(32)		 79
(26)		 64
(18)		 106
(41)
Average high °F (°C) 31
(−1)		 32
(0)		 42
(6)		 57
(14)		 70
(21)		 80
(27)		 85
(29)		 82
(28)		 75
(24)		 63
(17)		 47
(8)		 34
(1)		 58
Average low °F (°C) 16
(−9)		 14
(−10)		 23
(−5)		 35
(2)		 46
(8)		 55
(13)		 59
(15)		 57
(14)		 51
(11)		 40
(4)		 31
(−1)		 20
(−7)		 37
Record low °F (°C) −24
(−31)		 −30
(−34)		 −20
(−29)		 5
(−15)		 23
(−5)		 24
(−4)		 38
(3)		 32
(0)		 26
(−3)		 17
(−8)		 1
(−17)		 −16
(−27)		 −30
(−34)
Precipitation inches (cm) 1.6
(3)		 1.5
(3)		 1.9
(4)		 2.3
(5)		 3.1
(7)		 2.7
(6)		 2.5
(6)		 2.7
(6)		 2.8
(7)		 2.5
(6)		 2.1
(5)		 1.7
(4)		 27.4
(69)
Source: Weatherbase[10]

Education

v · Midland Public Schools
High schools
Middle schools
Central Middle School • Jefferson Middle School • Northeast Middle School
Elementary schools
Adams Elementary School • Carpenter Elementary School • Chestnut Hill Elementary School • Chippewassee Elementary School • Cook Elementary School • Eastlawn Elementary School • Longview Elementary School • Mills Elementary School • Parkdale Elementary School • Plymouth Elementary School • Siebert Elementary School • Woodcrest Elementary School
Private schools
Calvary Baptist Academy • Midland Academy of Advanced & Creative Studies
Alternative schools
Franklin Center
Charter schools
none
State schools
none
  • Secondary Schools
    • Education and Training Connection (ETC)
    • Windover High School - home of the Bull Dogs

Sites of interest

Midland Center for the Arts

Midland has many cultural opportunities in fields ranging from music and theater to science and the arts. The Midland Center for the Arts delivers hands-on exhibits in science, art and technology. The Center provides two state-of-the-art auditoriums for audiences of 400 to 1500 to enjoy everything from the Midland Symphony and Theater Guild to world-class orchestras and dance companies.

Midland County Historical Societies Heritage Park provides an opportunity to explore Midland County's history through a variety of avenues. The Herbert D. Doan Midland County History Center houses a research library, gift shop and the interactive Dorothy Dow Arbury Midland County History Gallery, which provides hands on exhibits for exploring Midland County's history. Also located at Heritage Park is the Herbert H. Dow Historical Museum, which explores the history and growth of the Dow Chemical Company founded in Midland by Herbert H. Dow. Also located on the campus is the Bradley Home Museum and Carriage House; the home built in 1874 by Benjamin F. Bradley provides an opportunity to experience a hands on historic home while the Carriage House hold an extensive collection of sleighs, carriages and the largest working blacksmith shop in the Mid-Michigan area.

Midland City parks number over 80 with over 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of park land. Small neighborhood parks nestled within residential areas are found throughout the city. Larger groups enjoy the amenities of two of Midland’s largest parks, Emerson and Plymouth. These parks feature large sheltered picnic areas, playgrounds, a pool and a major softball complex.

Skaters of all skill levels utilize Midland’s new 107,000-square-foot (9,900 m2) Civic Arena, which has two NHL-sized rinks and one Olympic-sized rink. A new BMX track is located in Midland’s growing Downtown area. Winner of a 2005 Michigan Cool Cities grant (a grass-roots, volunteer-based training program to revitalize a downtown area), Downtown Midland offers dining, shopping and entertainment for the whole family.

Walkers, joggers, bikers, and skaters can use the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail, a ribbon of asphalt stretching 30 miles (50 km) to the neighboring city of Clare. Midland County’s system of natural pathways continues to expand, with the recent addition of the Chippewa Trail, which connects to the Pere Marquette trail. The Chippewa Trail ends at the Chippewa Nature Center and their facilities of over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of deciduous and coniferous woods, rivers, ponds, wetlands (marsh, fen, bog, and swamp) and upland fields.

Also in the recreation mix are two golf courses, the Midland Community Center (with multiple swimming pools and exercise facilities), the West Midland Family Center, the North Midland Family Center, the Midland Gymnastics Center, the Midland Community Tennis Center and the Midland Curling Center.

Nature is found in abundance at Midland’s Dow Gardens. The 100-acre (40 ha) garden and arboretum was the original gardens of the Herbert H. Dow homestead and is open for tours. In addition, the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio offers tours of this landmark American architect’s unique and influential style. Alden Dow designed the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, Midland's public library named in his mother's honor.

More than 100 places of worship county-wide represent a variety of denominations and architectural styles, earning Midland the nickname "City of Beautiful Churches".[11] Midland’s Volunteer Center recruits upwards of 2,000 volunteers each year, and the United Way of Midland County supports 25 community organizations.

List of notable places

Retail

The city's major shopping district is located north of town, on Eastman Avenue near US-10. There are several Big-box stores located here, as well as the Midland Mall, which includes Barnes & Noble, JCPenney, Target, Elder-Beerman, and Sears. Midland also has a downtown on Main Street which includes local restaurants, artist co-ops, and local retail.

Power

In 1967, Dow Chemical attained criticality on a 100kW nuclear research reactor at the Midland facility, primarily as a neutron source and to irratiate samples.[16] The reactor continues to operate.[17]

In 1968, Consumers Power began construction of a nuclear power plant in Midland, primarily for the Dow Chemical Company. The project's budget was $257 million, with completion anticipated in 1972. Extreme construction problems caused years of delays and costs soared. The Three Mile Island accident in 1979 resulted in a massive change in nuclear regulatory requirements and system redesign. When it was revealed that the containment buildings were settling and foundation cracks were discovered, Dow cancelled their contract with Consumers Power, and the project was abandoned in 1984. The $4.1 billion investment nearly bankrupted Consumers Power. However, in 1985, Consumers Power formed a partnership with eight other companies to convert Midland's abandoned nuclear plant into a gas-fired power plant. Transformation of the plant began in 1986 and was completed at a cost of $500 million. The Midland Cogeneration Venture began producing power in 1991 and that success restored faith in Consumers Power.[18][19] The facility now produces 10% of the power consumption for the lower peninsula of Michigan.[20]

Historical markers

There are four recognized Michigan historical markers in the city.[21]

  • John and Almira Kelly House
  • Midland County Courthouse
  • Origins of Salt Industry / State Salt Well No. 1
  • The Upper Bridge

Awards

Midland has been recognized repeatedly at the national level for its business friendly attitude and high quality of life. A sampling includes.

  • Top Ten Metropolitan Areas for Economic Growth with a population under 200,000: Third Place. Business Facilities magazine[22]
  • Top Ten Alternative Energy Leaders: Third Place, Business Facilities[22]
  • Best Communities for Cultivating Entrepreneurs: Five-Star Honoree (2010), Top Honoree (2009) (University of Michigan-Dearborn eCities initiative)[citation needed]
  • Best Small Cities to Raise a Family: Fourth Place [23]
  • Best Tennis Town in America (U.S. Tennis Association, 2009)[citation needed]
  • 100 Best Communities for Young People: Honoree (America’s Promise Foundation, 2009 and 2008)[citation needed]
  • Michigan Companies to Watch Competition: 15 small business winners from 2006-2009 (Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center and the Edward Lowe Foundation)[citation needed]

Notable Midlanders

Sports

Midland is home to many recreational sporting facilities and organizations. These include the civic ice arena which hosts 2 NHL and one Olympic-sized rinks, a skate park downtown, and the Midland Community Tennis Center and its 32 courts. The tennis center also hosts a USTA Pro Circuit event and was part of the USTA award to Midland as America's Best Tennis Town 2009.[24]

Midland is also host to the following professional sports teams.

Club Sport League Venue Logo
Great Lakes Loons Baseball Midwest League Dow Diamond
Mid Michigan Ice Softball Independent Currie Stadium

Local media

Midland Community Television Network (Cable Channels 96,97,98,& 99) is the City of Midland's public, government, and education access cable television channel group. As Midland's only TV station, it is the purpose of MCTV to provide the people and organizations in the Midland area with an opportunity to be involved in using the television medium to inform, communicate, educate, and entertain. Midland Community Television Network is a service of the City of Midland serving the residents of the City of Midland and outlying areas through Charter Cable. MCTV is funded through Cable TV franchise fees paid by Charter Communications to the City of Midland for use of the public rights-of-way. Franchise fees are composed of a small percentage of cable subscriber fees. MCTV is a non-profit, non-commercial organization open to the citizens of the city or county of Midland.

Midland is the city of license of two FM radio stations serving the Tri-Cities (Saginaw/Bay City/Midland) area. WKQZ ("Z93") is an active rock station owned by Citadel Broadcasting and broadcasting at 93.3 FM. WUGN is a non-commercial station at 99.7 FM owned by Family Life Communications, broadcasting adult-contemporary Christian music and teaching.

WMPX (1490 AM) is Midland's "hometown" locally-owned radio station, owned by Steel Broadcasting and airing an adult standards ("Timeless Classics") format satellite-fed from ABC Radio. WMPX has an FM simulcast station in Beaverton, Michigan, WMRX (97.7 FM), which airs a small amount of local weekend programming separate from the AM. Other area stations include WEJC (88.3 FM) in White Star, Michigan, which airs contemporary Christian music and is affiliated with the Lansing-based "Smile FM" network; WPRJ (101.7 FM) in Coleman, Michigan, a Christian CHR station known as "The Fuse"; and country music station WGDN (103.1 FM) in nearby Gladwin, Michigan.

Midland is also served by radio and television stations from Saginaw, Bay City, Flint, Mount Pleasant, and Houghton Lake.

Midland's main newspaper is the Midland Daily News.

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Midland, Michigan
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  4. ^ "Sister City Relationships - Handa, Japan". City of Midland, Michigan. http://www.midland-mi.org/government/manager/sistercity.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
  5. ^ The Best Small Cities To Raise A Family Forbes, Retrieved 1-19-2011
  6. ^ MBS International Airport
  7. ^ Flint Bishop International Airport
  8. ^ "Jack Barstow Municipal Airport" City of Midland, City Engineering Department
  9. ^ Dial-A-Ride homepage
  10. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Saginaw, Michigan, United States of America". July 2011. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=072037. Retrieved November 29, 2007. 
  11. ^ Maddex, Diane. Alden B. Dow: Midwestern Modern (Midland, Michigan: Alden B. Dow Home and Studio, 2007) Pages 22, 80. ISBN 0393732487; ISBN 978-0393732481
  12. ^ http://www.mcfta.org/C_MCFTA/index.html
  13. ^ "USTA Outstanding Facility Awards, showing history of past recipients". United States Tennis Association. http://www.usta.com/USTA/Global/Active/News/Community%20Tennis/Volunteers/155336_USTA_Outstanding_Facility_Awards.aspx. Retrieved 2008-09-11. [dead link]
  14. ^ "RCW Trainers - Midwest Section". United States Tennis Association. http://www.usta.com/?sc_itemid=%7B0997409D-A9FD-4DD8-8194-EF2609135857%7D&340472_RCW_Trainers__Midwest_Section. Retrieved 2008-09-11. , Midland Community Tennis Center was awarded Midwest USTA Organization of the Year in 2005
  15. ^ "Satellite photo". Google Maps. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.611075,-84.248679&spn=0.004324,0.008256&t=k&hl=en. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
  16. ^ Safety Evaluation Report related to the renewal of the facility license for the research reactor at the Dow Chemical Company U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, April 1989
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ Hylton, Richard D.: "Market Place; Nuclear Write-Off To Success Story" New York Times, September 25, 1989
  19. ^ Lascari, Tony: "Former Midlander, ‘Pioneer for the Environment’, dies at 92" Midland Daily News, January 15, 2011
  20. ^ "Midland Cogeneration Venture" EQT Private Equity Funds, Investments
  21. ^ Michigan Historical Markers
  22. ^ a b Business Facilities, summer 2010
  23. ^ Forbes magazine, fall 2010
  24. ^ 2009 Best Tennis Town Retrieved 2010-5-18

External links

v · d · eMunicipalities and communities of Midland County, Michigan
County seat: Midland
Cities

Coleman | Midland‡
Village
Charter
townships
General law
townships
Footnotes

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
v · d · eMunicipalities and communities of Bay County, Michigan
Cities

Auburn | Bay City | Essexville | Midland‡ | Pinconning
Charter
townships
General law
townships
Unincorporated
communities

Bentley | Crump | Duel | Linwood | Munger | University Center | Willard
Footnotes

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
v · d · e State of Michigan
Topics
Regions
Largest
Municipalities
Counties

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