Sterling Heights, Michigan

Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 129,699. It is the second largest suburb in Metro Detroit, and the fourth largest city in Michigan.

Geography

 * According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.7 square miles (95.1 km²), of which, 36.6 square miles (94.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.
 * Sterling Heights is part of the Clinton River watershed, and branches of the river flow through it.

Events
Sterling Heights is well-known for its events.
 * The Memorial Day Parade held on Memorial Day.
 * Sterlingfest: A large event held in July/August each summer. This event is held in Dodge Park, a large park near downtown Sterling Heights. During the event, Dodge Park is crowded with food stands and carnival rides. The event also features performances by several artists and groups, some local, some well known (like Rick Springfield and REO Speedwagon).
 * American-Polish Festival: This festival often has large turnout, due to the large Polish population in Sterling Heights, and surrounding cities such as Troy and Warren. The event mainly consists of performances by local Polish bands.

Main highways
Sterling Heights sits on two main thoroughfares:

State highways

 * [[Image:M-53.svg|20px]] M-53 commonly called Van Dyke Avenue or the Van Dyke Expressway (they split in the City, however and rejoin to its north), which lead north into the Thumb and
 * [[Image:M-59.svg|20px]] M-59,commonly called Hall Road one the expressway ends- which is the east-west connector from just north of Mount Clemens, through Utica as a surface road, and then becomes a limited access freeway to Pontiac, Michigan, being the main northern connector between Macomb County and Oakland County. In Sterling Heights, large areas are devoted to retail and commercial development (e.g., Lakeside Mall).

Roundabouts
Sterling Heights is home to two roundabouts in Macomb County.The most recent, a three-lane roundabout constructed on M-53 at 18 ½ Mile (Van Dyke) Road in Sterling Heights, Macomb County, completed June 2005, and at the Municipal City Center located and Dodge Park and Utica.

Other main roads

 * Mound Road is an important north-south artery in the city.
 * East-west travel is mainly on the mile roads, that is 14 Mile Road on the south (Warren) border through 20 Mile Road (M-59) on the north border. See Mile Road System (Detroit).
 * 16 Mile Road (known as Metropolitan Parkway to the east, and Big Beaver Road to the west) is a main thoroughfare.
 * Utica Road is an important diagonal connector that criss-crosses the city to northwest, going at the intersection of Dodge Park Road (across from the Sterling Heights city hall, and across the road from Dodge Park) through the first roundabout in Macomb County.
 * Dequindre Road is the border between the city of Sterling Heights and the city of Troy. It is also the border between Macomb County and Oakland County.

Adjacent cities

 * Troy west
 * Warren south
 * Utica north
 * Shelby Township north
 * Clinton Township east
 * Fraser southeast

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 124,471 people, 46,319 households, and 33,395 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,397.0 per square mile (1,311.6/km²). There were 47,547 housing units at an average density of 1,297.6 per square mile (501.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.70% White, 1.30% African American, 0.21% Native American, 4.92% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. 1.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Ancestries: Polish (19.0%), German (14.4%), Italian (12.5%), Irish (5.7%), English (5.0),Chaldean (4.8%), American/US (4.0%) and Macedonian.

In 2000 there were more people in Sterling Heights born in Iraq than any other foreign country. In that year there were 5,059 people in Sterling Heights born in Iraq. The next three largest nations of foreign birth were India at 1,723, Italy at 1,442 and Poland at 1,427. For this reason, the city is sometimes referred to as "Little Baghdad".

There were 46,319 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,494, and the median income for a family was $70,140. Males had a median income of $51,207 versus $31,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,958. About 4.0% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010 the population was 129,699. The ethnic and racial composition of the population was 83.8% Non-Hispanic whites, 5.2% African Americans, 0.2% Native Americans, 6.7% Asians, 0.1% Non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 2.2% Two or more races and 1.9% Hispanic or Latino.

Politics
Sterling Heights experienced its first-ever mayoral primary in 2009. David Magliulo and Teresa Bil, signaled intentions to run against incumbent Mayor Richard J. Notte, who ultimately won another term. .

History
Sterling Heights was incorporated as a city in 1968. It was until the 1950s an agricultural area largely devoted to growing rhubarb and other crops sold in Detroit. Prior to 1968 Sterling Heights was known as Sterling Township. It had from 1836 until 1838 been known as Jefferson Township.

Anthony Dobry was the last township supervisor, and then served on the first city council; Later, Anthony served as mayor for eight years. Dobry Road on the northern city limits is named after him. Gerald Donovan became the first mayor of the city. There was already a small village named Sterling in Arenac County, so the word "Heights" was added to the township name to satisfy a state law that prevents incorporated municipalities from having the same name. "Sterling Oaks" was another name under consideration for the new city.

The August 2006 issue of Money magazine listed Sterling Heights as No. 19 on its list of the 90 "Best Small Cities" to live in.

Sterling Heights was ranked the sixth safest city in the U.S. with a population between 100,000—499,999, according to Morgan Quitno's 2006 analysis of crime rates.

Education
Sterling Heights is served by two public school districts, Utica Community Schools and Warren Consolidated Schools. Parkway Christian Academy is also located in Sterling Heights Michigan. Sterling Heights is also served by the Macomb Intermediate School District.

Media
The city of Sterling Heights has two local newspapers, the Sterling Heights Sentry (owned by C and G Newspapers, and the Sterling Heights Source (owned by Advisor & Source Newspapers), that are delivered to city residences free of charge. The city also has two local channels. SHTV is run by the city's community relations department and usually features locally-produced programming (including City Council meetings) and community announcements. Another channel is used for the Sterling Heights Public Library, which usually features educational programs as well as library announcements. You can find SHTV locally on Comcast channel 5, and on Wide Open West channel 10. The public library channel is found on Comcast channel 12 and WOW channel 20. The city's official radio station is AM 1700. The city also releases a seasonal magazine and a city calendar free of charge to each city household and business. The city's official website is www.sterling-heights.net.

Notable residents

 * Rapper Eminem briefly lived in the city in 2000.
 * 14 time American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Amateur Sidecar National Champion Keith Root lives in Sterling Heights.
 * 6 time American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Amateur rubber solo National Champion Joe Buckley lives in Sterling Heights (across the street from Keith Root).
 * Retired NHL defenseman Derian Hatcher was born in Sterling Heights. Hatcher played for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and the Philadelphia Flyers. He also attended Stevenson High School.
 * Retired NHL defenseman Shawn Chambers was born in Sterling Heights. Chambers played for the Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, and the Dallas Stars.
 * Retired NHL left wing Brad Jones (Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers) was born in Sterling Heights.
 * Mario Impemba, current play by play announcer for the Detroit Tigers on FSN Detroit was born in Sterling Heights.
 * Rock singer Bob Seger lived in Sterling Heights, and shared a backyard with his drummer.
 * Basketball player Kalin Lucas of the Michigan State Spartans was born in Sterling Heights.
 * Hockey Player and 1984 Team Captain Jim McCauley of the University of Michigan lives in Sterling Heights.
 * Teammates Shawn Hunwick (goaltender for the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team) and future Montreal Canadiens defenceman Greg Pateryn were born in Sterling Heights.
 * NFL Football player Craig Krenzel was born in Sterling Heights. Krenzel played originally for Ohio State University, winning the National Championship in 2003. He went on to play for the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals.
 * NFL football player Nicholas McDonald hails from Sterling Heights MI, and currently plays for the Green Bay Packers.
 * Professional football linebacker Frank Zombo, also of the Green Bay Packers, hails from Sterling Heights.
 * Professional OHL Hockey Player Myles McCauley, who plays for the Plymouth Whalers in the Canadian Hockey League and is in the 2010 NHL entry draft, attended Stevenson High School and hails from Sterling Heights.
 * All State high school basketball star and 4 star player Darren Washington hails from Sterling Heights.(EMU)
 * Tuba virtuoso Jon Heaver is a graduate of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights.
 * 1st Place winner of the 2003 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Jazib Nasim, resides in Sterling Heights.

Twin towns and sister cities

 * 🇲🇰 Tetovo, Macedonia
 * 🇵🇭 Sorsogon City, Philippines