Alpena County Courthouse - Alpena Michigan

Alpena ( ') is the only city in and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Alpena County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census. After Traverse City, it is the second most populated city in the

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

region. The city is surrounded by Alpena Township, but the two are administered autonomously. It is the core city of the Alpena micropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Alpena County and had a total population of 28,360 at the 2010 census. Located at

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...

along the shores of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Mack ...

, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population swells with many visitors and tourists during the summer months. MidMichigan Health, which is a federally-designated rural regional medical referral center, is the largest employer in the city.

History

It was originally part of Anomickee County founded in 1840, which in 1843 was changed to Alpena, a pseudo-Native American word — a

neologism A neologism Ancient_Greek.html"_;"title="_from_Ancient_Greek">Greek_νέο-_''néo''(="new")_and_λόγος_/''lógos''_meaning_"speech,_utterance"is_a_relatively_recent_or_isolated_term,_word,_or_phrase_that_may_be_in_the_process_of_entering_com ...

coined by

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...

, meaning something like "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time. The city of Alpena, MI was officially incorporated by Michigan State Legislature by an act of Legislature No. 249, approved March 29, 1871. Most of the city was lost in the

Great Michigan Fire The Great Michigan Fire was a series of simultaneous forest fires in the state of Michigan in the United States in 1871. They were possibly caused (or at least reinforced) by the same winds that fanned the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fi ...

of 1871. Less than one year later, on July 12, 1872, Alpena was hit by another fire, the largest in its history, which destroyed 15 acres of homes and businesses for a total amount of 65 buildings. The blaze started in a barn and lasted for two hours, killing at least four people and causing at least in damages. pp. 52–55. Alpena was again hit by a disastrous fire on July 11, 1888. In the early 1910s a failed attempt was led by the Alpena Motor Car Company to turn the city into "Automobile City" and compete with

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. The city has a number of notable buildings, including the

Art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

Alpena County Courthouse Alpena County Courthouses is a historic courthouse in Alpena, Michigan. It houses the circuit court and county clerk, while district court and probate court are housed across the street in the County Annex Building. History The first courthous ...

, the

I.O.O.F. Centennial Building The I.O.O.F. Centennial Building is an historic building located at 150 East Chisholm Street in Alpena, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

, and Temple Beth El, one of the

oldest synagogues in the United States Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

Geography and climate

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and (7.48%) is water. The city is on the shore of

, with Alpena Township surrounding it on land. Alpena has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

) with warm summers along with cool nights, moderated by nearby

and cold, snowy winters with annual snowfall averaging 84 inches (210 cm).

Transportation

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

and Minneapolis/St. Paul operated by

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. Th ...

. 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 The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center is a Michigan Air National Guard training facility. It is located west-northwest of Alpena, Michigan. Overview The Alpena CRTC is a year-round training facility. It provides premier support, facilit ...

co-utilizes the airfield.

Rail

Alpena is situated along the

Lake State Railway Lake State Railway is a railroad operating in the Saginaw Valley and northeastern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The railroad moves large quantities of aggregate and limestone, as well as coal, grain, and chemical products. Some ...

, formerly the Detroit and Mackinac Railway (D&M). Earlier railroads that served Alpena were built and owned by the

Alger Smith and Co. Alger may refer to: Places Algeria * French name for Algiers, the capital of Algeria ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alger * Alger (department), a former French department (1848-1962) Russia * Alger Island, Russia United States * Alge ...

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.

Bus

Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busi ...

provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Met ...

. This route is the

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, trans ...

service for Alpena.

Major highways

* serves Alpena on its way along the

shoreline. It has been designated the "Sunrise Side Coastal Highway", and runs along (or parallels) the Lake Huron shore. To the north, it passes Grand Lake and Long Lake, then to Rogers City, through Cheboygan, and on to Mackinaw City, where it ends at

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

and the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...

. On US 23 as it crosses Birdsong Bay just south of Alpena exists a sign which notes that it rests on the 45th parallel, indicating travelers are halfway between the equator and the North Pole. This is one of 29 places (six are in Michigan) in the U.S. where such signs are known to exist. US 23 continues south to Ossineke then further south to Oscoda and

Tawas City Tawas City is a city in and county seat of Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,834 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Tawas Township, but the two area administered automously. History Tawas Cit ...

. US 23 south joins

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

near Standish where it continues south downstate. * ends its easterly route from

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

to Lake Huron traversing the northern lower peninsula within downtown Alpena at an intersection with US 23. * is a few miles west of town, but is a more direct route to the south than US 23, which meanders along the lake shore through many villages and towns.

Trails

* Alpena to Hillman Trail from Alpena to

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had ...

in Montmorency County. * North Eastern State Trail from Alpena to Cheboygan in

Cheboygan County Cheboygan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 25,579. The county seat is Cheboygan. The county boundaries were set off in 1840, with land partitioned from Mackinac County. The Cheb ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 10,483 people, 4,734 households, and 2,565 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 5,278 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.1% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 4,734 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.8% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age in the city was 42.5 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 19.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 11,304 people, 4,874 households, and 2,865 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,200 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.66%

, 0.42%

, 0.43% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.09% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races.

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

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,476. About 10.4% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over. 2nd Ave bridge, Alpena (8740751553)

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 six 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 . There are two 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 of the Immaculate Conception) and provides preschool to 8th grade education. Immanuel Lutheran School is supported by the Immanuel Lutheran Church and has preschool to 8th grade classes. Alpena is also home to

Alpena Community College Alpena Community College (ACC) is a public community college in Alpena, Michigan. It was founded in 1952. The college has a main campus in Alpena and another campus, Huron Shores, located in Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan. The co ...

. 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, including a Master Blockmakers Degree for 5-class-accomplished students.

Competitions

* Alpena High School has hosted several

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...

events. * Alpena High School has hosted several All-Star Band events. * Alpena High School has hosted several Solo & Ensemble events

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 Lafarge-Holcim cement plant and to Besser Company (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 Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

quarry, which is used in

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

making in the Great Lakes and

Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...

regions. Alpena's primary shopping center is the Alpena Mall, the only enclosed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...

in the northeastern Lower Peninsula, featuring approximately 20 stores, with

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gi ...

and Gordon Food Service as the

anchor store In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wi ...

s. Other retailers operate in this part of town and on M-32 west of town and south on

US-23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since ...

. Alpena was also home to the

Alpena Thunder The Alpena Thunder were an independent junior ice hockey team. The team played out of Northern Lights Arena in Alpena, Michigan. History The franchise was formed in 2010 as an expansion franchise in the 2010–11 season of Northern Junior Ho ...

hockey team, until it was disbanded in 2011.

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 lpena* Monarch Mill * St. Bernard Catholic Church * World's Largest Cement Plant

Media

Print

* ''The Alpena News'' is the daily (Monday to Saturday) newspaper of record for much of northeastern lower peninsula of Michigan. * Daily editions of the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...

'' and ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'' are also available throughout the area.

Radio

Alpena is home to several

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

AM

FM

Television

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

Television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ea ...

s located within the Alpena DMA: * Channel 11: WBKB-TV - ( CBS,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on DT2, ABC on DT3, Fox/

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

on DT4); the only locally programmed terrestrial station within the market * Channel 6: WCML-TV - ( PBS) - satellite of

WCMU-TV WCMU-TV (channel 14) is a PBS member television station in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States, owned by Central Michigan University. The station's studios are located on the CMU campus in Mount Pleasant, and its transmitter is located west o ...

Mount Pleasant Cable only television: * Cable 3:

educational television * Cable 5:

Alpena CW Alpena CW is a CW-affiliated cable-only channel for the Alpena, Michigan market, carrying The CW Plus with no local deviation outside advertising. For the purposes of identification in electronic program guides and Nielsen ratings tabulation, ...

- (

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) Northeast Michigan is also served by selected major network affiliates from the

DMA, as well as

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

programming from CBMT-DT in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

service is provided within Alpena and many outlying communities by

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribe ...

Local libraries, museums, planetarium and landmarks

* The

Alpena County Library The Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library is a public library in Alpena, Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of ...

* The

Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan The Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is a community museum serving Alpena County and surrounding counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Alpena is a port city on Lake Huron. The museum defines its role broadly to preserve, protect and pre ...

and Planetarium. The museum published ''The Town that Wouldn't Die: A Photographic History of Alpena, Michigan from Its Beginnings Through 1940''. * Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, also known as Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Notable people

* Jesse Besser, inventor and benefactor of the

; lived in Alpena *

Paul Bunker Paul Delmont Bunker (May 7, 1881 – March 16, 1943) was an American football player and soldier. Bunker attended the U.S. Military Academy and became the first football player at West Point to be selected as a first-team All-American by Walter Ca ...

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

and 1902 All-American football player;

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

r; born in Alpena *

William Comstock William Alfred Comstock (July 2, 1877 – June 16, 1949) was an American politician as the 33rd governor of Michigan. Early life Born in 1877 in Alpena, Michigan, he attended the University of Michigan, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fra ...

, 33rd governor of Michigan; born in Alpena * Leon Czolgosz, assassin of U.S. President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

; lived in Alpena *

Bob Devaney Robert Simon Devaney (April 13, 1915 – May 9, 1997) was a college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career record of . ...

, football coach for

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...

and

Wyoming Cowboys football The Wyoming Cowboys football program represents the University of Wyoming in college football. They compete in the Mountain West Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I and have won 14 conference titles. The head co ...

;

r; lived in Alpena *

Brian Dutcher Brian James Dutcher (born October 30, 1959) is an American college basketball coach and is the head coach for the San Diego State Aztecs men's team of the Mountain West Conference. He was an assistant under head coach Steve Fisher with the Michi ...

, basketball coach for

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

; born in Alpena * Jim Dutcher, former basketball head coach for

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

; born in Alpena * Robert L. Emerson, Michigan state Senator; born in Alpena *

The Frost The Frost was an American psychedelic rock band from Alpena, Michigan in the late 1960s, led by singer-guitarist Dick Wagner, who went on to play with Ursa Major, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel in the 1970s. The rest of the band consisted ...

, psychedelic rock band of the '60s and '70s originated in Alpena. Several members were born there. *

Stanley Grenz Stanley James Grenz (1950–2005) was an American Christian theologian and ethicist in the Baptist tradition. Early years Grenz was born on 7 January 1950 in Alpena, Michigan. Grenz graduated from the University of Colorado in 1973. He then earn ...

, Christian theologian; born in Alpena * Blaise Ilsley, pitcher for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

; born in Alpena * Lloyd R. Leavitt, Jr., United States Air Force general; born in Alpena *

Betty Mahmoody Betty Mahmoody (née Lover; born June 9, 1945, in Alma, Michigan) is an American author and public speaker best known for her book, '' Not Without My Daughter'', which was subsequently made into a film of the same name. She is the President an ...

, author of '' Not Without My Daughter''; lived in Alpena * Harvey Marlatt, shooting guard for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

; born in Alpena * Andrew Marwede, professional disc golfer; born in Alpena * Arthur William McLeod, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

; born in Alpena *

Joel Potrykus Joel Potrykus is an American film director and screenwriter. His feature film debut ''Ape'' won the Best New Director prize at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival, while his follow-up feature ''Buzzard'' won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2014 Ljubljana Int ...

, filmmaker ('' Ape (2012 film)''); born in Alpena * Dan Rohn, infielder for the

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

; born in Alpena *

Paul Fitzpatrick Russell Paul Fitzpatrick Russell (born May 2, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in May 2022. He was previously the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Azerb ...

, Roman Catholic archbishop and diplomat; lived in Alpena * Michael Bailey Smith, actor (''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

''); born in Alpena * K. J. Stevens, novelist and short story writer; born in Alpena * Kevin Young, first baseman for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

; born in Alpena

In popular culture

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

and the film crew of ''

Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...

'' 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 Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

's Stapleton Airport which had no snow), a dearth of precipitation in Alpena necessitated the use of artificial snow. * In Season 5 Episode 12 of ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

'', Tim and Al are stuck at the Alpena airport on their way to Binford Tools' winter festival.

Parks

* Starlite Beach * Mich-e-ke-wis Park * McRae Park * Thompson Park * Washington Park * Duck Park * Island Park * Avery Park * Rotary Island

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

City of Alpena's official website

Alpena County Soil Survey, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Michigan State University Extension Service (soil, history, good general information)

{{authority control Cities in Alpena County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States Micropolitan areas of Michigan Populated places established in 1840 1840 establishments in Michigan