Midland, Michigan

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. 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. 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.

Demographics
As of the census 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 near Freeland and Flint's Bishop International Airport. The Jack Barstow Municipal Airport, dedicated May 30, 1936, is a general aviation airport operated by the city and available for private planes.

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.

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

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.

Education

 * Midland Public Schools
 * Herbert Henry Dow High School
 * "Home of the Chargers"
 * Midland High School
 * "Home of the Chemics"
 * Central Middle School
 * "Home of the Cavaliers"
 * Jefferson Middle School
 * "Home of the Huskies"
 * Northeast Middle School
 * "Home of the Vikings"
 * The Midland Academy of Advanced & Creative Studies - Grades K-12
 * "Home of the Eagles"


 * Bullock Creek Public Schools
 * "Home of the Lancers"


 * Davenport University


 * Michigan State University (research facility)


 * Northwood University
 * Delta College Midland Center (DCMC)

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 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 3000 acre 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 107000 sqft 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 mi 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 1000 acre 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 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". 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

 * Alden B. Dow Home & Studio
 * Chippewa Nature Center
 * Dahlia Hill
 * Dow Chemical Company headquarters
 * Dow Corning headquarters
 * Dow Corning Midland plant
 * Dow Diamond, Home of the Great Lakes Loons, the Single-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League in Major League Baseball
 * Dow Gardens
 * Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
 * Herbert H. Dow House
 * Midland Center for the Arts
 * Midland Civic Arena, a 1,000-seat indoor arena
 * Midland Community Center
 * Midland Community Stadium
 * Midland Community Tennis Center
 * Pere Marquette Rail-Trail
 * The Tridge, 3-way pedestrian bridge over the Tittabawassee and Chippewa rivers.

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.

Historical markers
There are four recognized Michigan historical markers in the city.
 * John and Almira Kelly House
 * Midland County Courthouse
 * Origins of Salt Industry / State Salt Well No. 1
 * The Upper Bridge

Notable Midlanders

 * Ryan Bedford, olympic speed skater who lived and trained in Midland for many years
 * Michael Cohrs, financier
 * Terry Collins, manager New York Mets
 * Mikey "Bug" Cox, ex-Drummer of Coal Chamber
 * Alden B. Dow, architect
 * Herbert H. Dow, founder of Dow Chemical
 * Gary Gerould, sports announcer National Basketball Association with the Sacramento Kings and other sports
 * Cathy Guisewite, cartoonist
 * James Aloysius Hickey, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, DC
 * Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart
 * Larry Jaster, former Major League Baseball pitcher with the St.Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, and Atlanta Braves
 * Jim Kern, three time All-Star baseball pitcher with Cleveland Indians
 * Nancy LaMott, cabaret singer
 * Matt Mieske, former baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, and the Arizona Diamondbacks
 * Howard Mudd, former National Football League All-Pro, and offensive line coach of the 2007 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts
 * Jalen Parmele, National Football League running back for the Baltimore Ravens
 * Bob Scurfield, former professional ice hockey player
 * Jim Shaw, visual artist
 * Steve Shelley, drummer of Sonic Youth
 * Cheryl Studer, opera singer
 * Tom Vaughn, Jazz pianist and Episcopal Priest formerly at St. John's Episcopal Church (Midland).
 * Scott Winchester, former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds

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.

Midland is also host to the following professional sports teams.

Local media
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.

Sister cities

 * 🇯🇵 Handa, Aichi, Japan