Alpena, Michigan

Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census. The population swells with a large number of visitors in the summer.

Despite its small population, it is by far the largest city in the sparsely populated Northeast Michigan (lower peninsula) area, serving as its commercial and cultural hub. It is considered to be one of the two anchor cities of Northern Michigan, along with Traverse City. The Alpena Regional Medical Center is a federally designated rural regional medical referral center, and is the largest employer in the city.

Development
The region, known as the "Sunrise Side" from its location on the east shoreline of Michigan, was first a site of commercial fishing activity and is still home to extensive commercial fishing activities. Later the region, like much of Michigan, was shaped by the logging era of the 1800s. Today, Alpena is known for its limestone quarry, one of the largest in the world, owned and operated by the Lafarge corporation and is a major cement manufacturer and exporter. Alpena is also the world headquarters of Besser Company, a manufacturer of concrete block machines. Tourism (fishing, hunting, camping and a variety of water sports) is also important to Alpena's economy. A

In February 2007 Bizjournals ranked Alpena as the hottest retirement destination in the Great Lakes area and #44 nationally.

The city has a number of notable buildings, including the Art deco Alpena County Courthouse, and Temple Beth El, one of the Oldest synagogues in the United States.

Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.5 km2. 8.4 sqmi is land and 0.7 sqmi (7.71%) is water. The city is on the shore of Lake Huron's Thunder Bay, with Alpena Township surrounding it on land.

Access to natural resources and water transportation has been important in development of the community. Light stations and lighthouses  surround Alpena. Several islands off the coast in Thunder Bay are part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and Scarecrow Island is part of the Michigan Islands Wilderness Area. Charity, Little Charity, Scarecrow, and Thunder Bay Islands form the Lake Huron division of the Michigan Islands NWR. There are lighthouses on Charity (abandoned) and Thunder Bay Islands.

Air
Alpena County Regional Airport (IATA: APN, ICAO: KAPN, FAA LID: APN) is the northeast lower peninsula of Michigan's main commercial airport and handles daily Delta Connection flights to Detroit and Sault Ste. Marie operated by Mesaba Airlines. It is a public-use airport located in Wilson Township, Michigan six miles (10 km) west of the central business district of Alpena. The Michigan Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center co-utilizes the airfield.

Rail
Alpena is situated along the Lake State Railway, formerly the Detroit and Mackinac Railway (D&M). Earlier railroads that served Alpena were built and owned by the Alger Smith and Co. logging company: (1) the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad which entered Alpena from the south around 1886; and (2) the Alpena and Northern Railroad.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,304 people, 4,874 households, and 2,865 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,348.9 per square mile (520.8/km2). There were 5,200 housing units at an average density of 620.5 per square mile (239.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.66% White, 0.42% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.59% of the population.

There were 4,874 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,353, and the median income for a family was $40,056. Males had a median income of $34,534 versus $21,951 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,476. About 10.4% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Alpena, along with the rest of Alpena County and portions of Presque Isle County, is served by Alpena Public Schools. Alpena Public Schools was established as the first county-wide school district in the state of Michigan in 1963. The district has one high school, a junior high, an alternative/adult high school, and eight elementary schools. The elementary schools are Besser, Ella White, Hinks, Lincoln, Sanborn, and Wilson Elementary Schools. Geographically, it is the largest school district in the Lower Peninsula, encompassing more than 620 sqmi.

There are three private schools in Alpena. All Saints Catholic School is affiliated with the four Roman Catholic parishes in the city (St. Anne's, St. Bernard's, St. John the Baptist and St. Mary the Immaculate) and provides preschool to 6th grade education. Immanuel Lutheran School is supported by the Immanuel Lutheran Church and has preschool to 8th grade classes. The Alpena SDA Elementary School is a Seventh-Day Adventist school that has offers elementary education. Bingham Arts Academy, a charter school run by Mosaica, also provides classes from preschool to 8th grade.

Alpena is also home to Alpena Community College. ACC is a two-year associates program that has partnerships with Spring Arbor University and several other Michigan institutions. Within Alpena Community College is the World Center for Concrete Technology (WCCT). The WCCT draws a worldwide enrollment of students for classes in Concrete Technology that is unparalleled anywhere else, even including a Master Blockmakers Degree for 5-class-accomplished students.

Economy
While tourism is an important component of the area's economy, both Alpena and Rogers City have an industrial base. In particular, Alpena is home to the LaFarge Company's cement plant and to Besser Block Co. (maker of a concrete block making machinery), as well as a drywall board manufacturing facility owned by Decorative Panels International. Rogers City is the location of the world's largest limestone quarry, which is used in steel making in the Great Lakes and Rust Belt regions.

Alpena's primary shopping center is the Alpena Mall, a small enclosed shopping mall featuring approximately like 10 stores, with JCPenney as the anchor store.

Fletcher Street Brewing Company is in Old Town on the Thunder Bay River.

Alpena is also home to the Alpena Thunder hockey team.

Historical markers
There are seven recognized historical markers in the city:


 * Alpena City Hall
 * Alpena County Courthouse
 * The Daniel Carter Family, Alpena'a first settlers.
 * First Congregational Church [Alpena]
 * Monarch Mill
 * St. Bernard Catholic Church
 * World's Largest Cement Plant

Print

 * The Alpena News is the daily newspaper of record for much of northeastern lower peninsula of Michigan.
 * Daily editions of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News are also available throughout the area.

Radio
Alpena is home to several radio stations.

Television
Alpena is the third smallest (208) Nielsen Designated Market Area (DMA) in the United States.

There is only one locally programmed terrestrial Television station located within the Alpena DMA:
 * Channel 11, cable 10: WBKB-TV - (CBS, Fox on DT2 and cable 13)

Rebroadcasts of other television stations include:
 * Channel 6, cable 6: WCML-TV - (PBS) - feed of WCMU-TV
 * Channel 18: W18BT - (TBN) - national feed

Cable only television:
 * Cable 3: Alpena Community College educational television
 * Cable 21: "Alpena CW" - (The CW)

Northeast Michigan is also served by selected major network affiliates from the Northern Michigan and Mid-Michigan DMAs, as well as CBC Television programming from CBMT in Montreal. Cable television service is provided within Alpena and many outlying communities by Charter Communications.

Annual cultural and sporting events
There are many recurring local activities. A calendar is available.
 * Alpena Blues Festival, late June at The Alpena Fair Grounds and Merchant Building.
 * Alpena County Fair, Alpena County Fairgrounds.
 * Besser Museum Log Cabin Day, last Sunday in June. Approved by the Michigan legislature passed a bill to make Log Cabin Day an annual event to be held on the last Sunday in June. The Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan spotlights their own two log cabins on this day and celebrates by offering old fashioned, family-pleasing activities.
 * Garden Walk fundraiser for Shelter, Inc, nine gardens in July.
 * Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival second weekend in October, which provides funding and support for lighthouses
 * Habitat for Humanity-Alpena Area "Drive to Build" Charity Golf Outing
 * Hillman Street Drags, first weekend in July, downtown, Hillman, Michigan.
 * Lafarge Downtown Alpena Riverfest, in mid-June. Family event centered on the Thundre Bay River, celebrating Alpena's lumbering history. Professional lumberjack shows, entertainment, music, storytelling, chainsaw carving, food, fun and games.
 * Michigan Brown Trout Festival, a week in mid-July.
 * Presque Isle Harbor Wooden Boat Show, mid-June.
 * Ramblin' Rods Car Show, second weekend in August at Mich-E-Kewis Park, Alpena.
 * Sunrise Side Heritage Bike Ride, first weekend in September. Ride Along Lake Huron Shoreline (US 23) from the Arenac County fairgrounds to Mackinac Bridge then South to West Branch on M-33 and M-55 . This is a 400-mile long organized ride.
 * Thunder Bay Arts Council's "Art on the Bay" at beautiful Bay View Park in Alpena. A Juried Fine Arts and Fine Crafts Fair which coincides with The Michigan Brown Trout Festival.
 * Thunder Bay Lanes has hosted a long-running annual 6-man team Ten-pin bowling tournament in March. It also occasionally hosts the Northern Michigan Men's and Women's championships.
 * Thunder Bay Maritime Festival is presented by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve in Alpena, MI.

Local cultural and eleeomosynary institutions

 * Thunder Bay Theatre is northeast Michigan's only professional theatrical group, and regularly presents productions.
 * Youth Sailing Instruction and Training is offered by the Alpena Yacht Club.

Local libraries, museums and landmarks

 * The Alpena County Library
 * The Jesse M. Besser Museum for Northeastern Michigan and Planetarium.
 * Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, also known as Thunder Bay National Maritime Sanctuary and Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Notable residents
There are a great many citizens, too numerous to list here, who were important in founding Alpena, and making Alpena grow and prosper over the years. Notable people were born in, or have lived in, Alpena, include:
 * Paul Bunker, 1901 and 1902 All-American football player at Army and College Football Hall of Famer
 * William Comstock, 33rd governor of Michigan, also buried there
 * Leon Czolgosz, Presidential assassin
 * Bob Devaney, former football coach for several college and highschool football teams
 * Robert L. Emerson, politician
 * Stanley Grenz, Christian theologian
 * MLB players Blaise Ilsley, Dan Rohn and Kevin Young
 * Betty Mahmoody, author of Not Without My Daughter
 * Harvey Marlatt, former Detroit Pistons player
 * Michael Bailey Smith, actor
 * K.J. Stevens, novelist and short story writer

Alpena in popular culture
- 	- 	-
 * The 1991 feature film Not Without My Daughter starring Sally Field and Alfred Molina was based upon the true story of Betty Mahmoody who was living in Alpena in 1984 during the events surrounding the film and novel of the same name.
 * Bruce Willis and the film crew of Die Hard 2 used Alpena's airport to shoot several scenes of the film. Although the location was selected because snow was expected to be integral to the movie (and was moved from Denver's Stapleton Airport which had no snow), a dearth of precipitation in Alpena necessitated the use of artificial snow.
 * The nearby novelty attraction in Ossineke features "Dinosaur Gardens" a handmade collection of prehistoric animals and dinosaurs was featured in the book Roadside America

-
 * Alpena, or just its airport, is featured in the Season 5 Home Improvement episode Twas The Flight Before Christmas when Tim and Al fly up to Alpena in order to attend the Binford Winter festival, and for Tim to get Jill's Present. However, a snowstorm keeps the two stranded at the airport.