Midland, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in Central Michigan. It is the county seat of Midland County6.
A small portion of the city is in Bay County. The city's population was 41,685 as of the 2000 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 largest portion of the city is land incorporated from Midland Township, which is politically independent. The mayor of Midland is Bruce Johnson.
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 ([1]). The Dow Corning Corporation is also headquartered in Midland.
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[edit] Sister cities
[edit] Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 90.5 km² (35.0 mi²). 86.0 km² (33.2 mi²) of it is land and 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²) of it (4.95%) is water. [edit] DemographicsAs of the census² of 2000, there were 41,685 people, 16,743 households, and 11,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 484.5/km² (1,254.9/mi²). There were 17,773 housing units at an average density of 206.6/km² (535.0/mi²). 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. [edit] Education
[edit] Sites of interest
 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 Theatre Guild to world-class orchestras and dance companies. Midland City parks number over 80 with over 3,000 acres 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 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 and joggers can use the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail, a ribbon of asphalt stretching 30 miles to the neighboring city of Clare. Midland County’s system of natural pathways continues to expand, with the recent addition of the Chippewa Nature 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 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 Grace A. Dow Memorial Library. In addition, Midland is the home of Hangtime Sports, an 89,900-square-foot facility with eight indoor courts. Nature is found in abundance at Midland’s Dow Gardens. The 100-acre 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. More than 100 places of worship county-wide represent most denominations and a variety of architectural styles. Midland’s Volunteer Center recruits upwards of 2,000 volunteers each year, and the United Way of Midland County supports 25 community organizations.
[edit] Famous Midlanders
[edit] Sports
Midland will be the home of the Great Lakes Loons baseball team beginning in the 2007 season. After failure to pique interest in Battle Creek, the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays have been purchased by a new ownership group. [edit] See also
[edit] Local mediaMidland 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, Mount Pleasant, and Houghton Lake. [edit] External links
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