Central Michigan

	Central Michigan
	Mid-Michigan
	Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
	The Central Michigan and Mid Michigan describe the same general region of Michigan.

Central Michigan, often called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the central area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Central Michigan corresponds roughly to the palm. The region consists mainly of farmland and some cities of moderate size.

Definitions[edit]

For the most part Central Michigan and Mid Michigan are synonymous with each other, representing generally the same geographic area of Michigan. However, some definitions of Central Michigan and Mid Michigan can vary significantly, depending on one's point of reference.

The Flint & Tri-Cities Area is a term that refers to the area surrounding Flint, Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City areas which is commonly referred to as Mid Michigan.

The Thumb of Michigan is a peninsula that surrounded by Lake Huron and located in the east-central area of the state.

Economy[edit]

The Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

Central Michigan's economy is primarily agricultural, and some automobile manufacturing.

Agriculture[edit]

Major crops grown in this region include corn, sugar beets, and soy beans. The Michigan Sugar Company, which is a cooperative owned by 1,250 farmers, operates factories in Bay City, Caro, Croswell, and Sebewaing.

Manufacturing[edit]

General Motors operates the Flint Truck Assembly factory in Flint and Powertrain plants in Flint, Bay City, Saginaw, and Delhi Township, Michigan. Until 2004, Mid-Michigan (specifically Lansing) was also known for being the location of the main Oldsmobile plant for General Motors. The world headquarters of Nexteer Automotive, a car parts supplier, is located in Saginaw. S.C. Johnson and Son has a manufacturing facility in Bay City making Ziploc products.

The Dow Chemical Company and Dow Corning have their world headquarters is based in Midland.

Government[edit]

Since Lansing is the State Capitol, the number one employer in the Greater Lansing area is the State of Michigan.

International Trade Corridor[edit]

The I-69 International Trade Corridor is a strategic commercial gateway between the Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada, with multi-modal transportation infrastructure that offers a wide range of distribution options.The I-69 International Trade Corridor Next Michigan Development Corporation (NMDC) offers economic incentives to growing businesses, both existing and new, that utilize two or more forms of transportation to move their products and are located within the territory of the NMDC. The I-69 International Trade Corridor Next Michigan Development Corporation is the largest in the state of Michigan with 35 municipal partners.^[1]

Constituent counties of the trade corridor are: Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, and St. Clair Counties.^[2]

Geography[edit]

Central Michigan is mostly rural with population swells in the Tri-Cities, Flint, and Lansing areas.

See also: List of Michigan state parks and geography of Michigan.

The region includes many rivers including the Grand River, Red Cedar River, Saginaw River, Tittabawassee River, Shiawassee River and Flint River. A continental divid occurs in Central Michigan, causing the Grand Rivers to flow west into Lake Michigan and the Saginaw River to empty into the Saginaw Bay. The terrain has rolling hills and plains with fertile soil. Agriculture dominates in the rural areas, where corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and hey are grown. The region has mostly small towns with a few cities of notable size. Most of the area is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing^[3]

Principal Cities[edit]

Central Michigan has several cities of regional and geographic importance:

Lansing, is the capital of Michigan and centrally located in the Lower Peninsula. It is the fifth largest city in the state.
Flint is the sixth largest city in the state and an important center for Michigan's automotive industry.
The Greater Tri Cities area includes Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw
Mt. Pleasant is a cultural center and home to Central Michigan University

Colleges and universities[edit]

Beaumont Tower on Michigan State's campus.

Major educational institutions in Central Michigan, See Also: Southern Michigan for colleges not listed.

Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant
Michigan State University in East Lansing
Michigan State University College of Law in East Lansing
Lansing Community College in Lansing
Mid Michigan Community College in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant
Mott Community College in Flint
Northwood University in Midland
St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron
Alma College in Alma
Olivet College in Olivet
Saginaw Valley State University in University Center
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (the nation's largest) is headquartered in Lansing.
University of Michigan–Flint
Delta College in University Center
Kettering University in Flint
Baker College (throughout different areas of Michigan)
Davenport University (throughout different areas of Michigan)

Media[edit]

Newspapers[edit]

The Lansing State Journal is the sole daily newspaper published in metropolitan Lansing, and is owned by Gannett, which also owns the daily Port Huron Times Herald and USA Today. The Flint Journal^[4] is available in the Flint and Lapeer areas and is published four times a week. Editions of the Bay City Times,^[5] Midland Daily News and Saginaw News^[6] are available in the greater Tri-Cities area. The Times and the Saginaw News published three times a week, while the Midland Daily News publishes daily. The Great Lakes Bay Edition, a joint publication between the Saginaw News and the Bay City Times, focuses on those two cities, as well as Midland, and publishes once a week. The Hearst Corporation owns the Midland Daily News and the Huron Daily Tribune. Mount Pleasant is served by a daily newspaper called The Morning Sun.^[7]

The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News are available throughout the area.

Radio[edit]

The region is served by multiple radio stations. For a complete listing of stations, see one of the following markets:

Broadcast television[edit]

Television in the Central Michigan area varies from market to market. Availability of stations depend on reception of aerial signals, as well as availability on cable and satellite in a particular area. In some areas of the region, broadcasts from all three markets can be received over the air.

Transportation[edit]

Durand Union Station, the crossroads for Michigan's railroads.

Airports[edit]

Scheduled airline service is offered from Lansing Capital Region International Airport.^[8] Airline service is also available from MBS International Airport^[9] near Midland, Michigan and Flint Bishop International Airport.^[10] Other portions are proximate to Gerald R. Ford International Airport, east of Grand Rapids, Michigan,^[11] and Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport near Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[12]

Railroads[edit]

Passenger rail is provided by Amtrak and has stations in East Lansing, Durand, Flint, Lapeer, and Port Huron on its Blue Water line.

The Great Lakes Central Railroad is a regional railroad operating from Petoskey to Ann Arbor.
CSX owns a major line between Detroit and Grand Rapids, passing through Lansing. It also owns a line from Toledo to Flint, and another south of Port Huron.
Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a part of the Canadian National system has a busy line between Port Huron and Chicago, passing through Flint, Durand, and Lansing.
Mid-Michigan Railroad, owned by Genesee & Wyoming and operating in the Alma area.
The Huron and Eastern Railway is also owned by Genessee and Wyoming and has lines north of Durand branching into the Thumb.
Lake State Railway serves each of the Tri Cities and stretches into Northern Michigan.

Major highways[edit]

I‑69 from Port Huron to Fort Wayne, Indiana, connecting Flint and Lansing.
I‑75 is a major artery connecting the Tri Cities with Flint and Detroit.
I‑475 in the Flint area
I‑675 in Saginaw
I‑94 from Port Huron to Chicago via Detroit, Jackson, and Battle Creek.
I-96 from Grand Rapids to Detroit via Lansing.
I-496 (R.E. Olds Freeway) in the Lansing area
US 10
US 12 also known as Michigan Avenue and Chicago Road
US 23
US 127 comes from the south, through Lansing, and ends its 758-mile-long (1,220 km) journey at Grayling. It directly connects Northern Michigan (and the Mackinac Bridge via I-75) to Lansing, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee (all the way down to Chattanooga US 127 is the direct link between the state capital in Lansing and the Ingham County seat in Mason.
M‑43 is a highway in southwestern and central Michigan from South Haven to Webberville.
M‑46— a cross peninsular road, running across the entire mitten including the thumb—from Port Sanilac on the Lake Huron shore; through Saginaw near Saginaw Bay; and then on to Muskegon on the Lake Michigan shore. This east-west surface route nearly bisects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan latitudinally.
M‑13
M‑15
M‑21
M‑46
M‑57
M‑66
M‑87
M‑99
M‑100