Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a

mitten A mitten is a type of glove that covers the hand but does not have separate finger openings or sheaths. Generally, mittens still separate the thumb from the other four fingers. They have different colours and designs. Mittens provide greater th ...

, and Mid Michigan corresponds roughly to the palm, encompassing the fertile rolling plains of the Michigan Basin. The region contains cities of moderate size, including

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, and the state capital of

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Definitions

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 Greater Lansing area, sometimes called the ''Capitol Region'', includes the area surrounding the state capitol of

and nearby

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. * The Greater Tri-Cities area, also called the ''Great Lakes Bay Region'', is the area surrounding the Saginaw Bay including the cities of

, Bay City, Midland and can be expanded to include Mt. Pleasant as well. * The

area is included in Mid Michigan.

Other definitions

Central or Mid Michigan can also include areas that are referred to as

Southern Michigan Southern Michigan is a loosely defined geographic area of the U.S. state of Michigan. Southern Michigan may be referred to as a sub-region or component area to other regions of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is an area of rolling farmland, in ...

. This is loosely defined and can refer to a region in the south-central portion of the state characterized by the

Irish Hills Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in Southeast Michigan. It was named after the numerous Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830 until 1850. Today it is known thro ...

. The region includes the

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, and Hillsdale areas which are also considered a part of

Southeast Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...

. Portions of Central or Mid Michigan can overlap with portions of

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. For example, areas of Montcalm County could fall into both regions, with the west side of the county such as Greenville aligning with West Michigan, and eastern portions identifying more with Central Michigan. Also, some areas may overlap with what is known as

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 ...

. These areas, such as Clare, Gladwin, and

Arenac County Arenac County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 15,002. The county seat is Standish, Michigan, Standish. History Arenac County was ...

are along the border of the two regions and can be considered parts of both, depending on your frame of reference. Portions of

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

can overlap with Central Michigan, especially the counties of

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...

, Lapeer, Livingston and St. Clair are statistically included in Metro Detroit however geographically lie in Mid Michigan.

Geography

Downtown Flint Michigan taken from Genesee Towers

The region includes many rivers including the Grand River, Red Cedar River,

Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and S ...

Tittabawassee River The Tittabawassee River flows in a generally southeasterly direction through the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river begins at Secord Lake in Clement Township, at the confluence of the East Branch and the Middle Branch. Fro ...

Shiawassee River The Shiawassee River ( ) in the U.S. state of Michigan drains an area of within Oakland, Genesee, Livingston, Shiawassee, Midland and Saginaw counties. It flows in a generally northerly direction for approximately from its source to its co ...

and Flint River. A drainage divide occurs in Central Michigan, causing the Grand River to flow west into Lake Michigan and the

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 hay 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 The Diocese of Lansing ( la, Diœcesis Lansingensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the south-central portion of Michigan around Lansing. It encompasses an area of including the countie ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw ( la, Dioecesis Saginavensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering eleven counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bishop was William Francis ...

Principal cities

Central Michigan has several cities of regional and geographic importance: *

, is the capital of

and centrally located in the

. It is the fifth largest city in the state. The Lansing-East Lansing metropolitan area is the third largest metro area in Michigan. *

is the sixth largest city in the state and an important center for Michigan's automotive industry. * The Tri-Cities area includes Midland, Bay City, and

. The Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area is the fifth largest metro area in Michigan.

Counties included

Lansing area

* Clinton * Eaton * Ingham

Flint and Tri-Cities area

* Arenac * Bay * Clare *

* Gladwin * Gratiot *

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

* Lapeer * Midland *

* Shiawassee

History and culture

Central Michigan has a rich and varied culture, including European farmers who settled in rural areas to work the land and ethnic minorities populating the area's urban centers to make a living in the automobile industry. The Mid-Michigan area was predominately

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

territory prior to colonization. One of the first European settlements in the region was the French Fort St. Joseph in present-day

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

in 1686. The area that became Michigan opened up to European settlement following the

French and Indian war The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Later in the 1800s Lewis Cass would negotiate the

Treaty of Saginaw The Treaty of Saginaw, also known as the Treaty with the Chippewa, was made between Gen. Lewis Cass and Chief Mash Kee Yosh, Chief John Okemos, Chief Wasso and other Native American tribes of the Great Lakes region (principally the Ojibwe, b ...

, in which Ojibwe land was handed over to form much of present-day Mid-Michigan. The opening of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

brought vast numbers of settlers to the region, as population started growing northward from Ohio. The first settlers to the area cleared the land for the

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry. Forests of

the Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

and Saginaw Valley provided much of the lumber to feed the growing United States. The convenient access to transportation provided by the

and its numerous tributaries fueled a massive expansion in population and economic activity. As the trees were being cut down in the region, logs were floated down the rivers to sawmills located in Saginaw, destined to be loaded onto ships and later railroad cars.

was also a lumber boom town, with the city turning lumber into carriages and wagons, which would later give way to the automobile industry. Michigan became a state in 1837, with the State Capitol in

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 ...

until the winter of 1847 when the state constitution required that the capital be moved from

to a more central and safer location in the interior of the state. Many were concerned about Detroit's proximity to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-controlled

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, which had captured Detroit in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. The United States had recaptured the city in 1813, but these events led to the dire need to have the center of government relocated away from hostile

British territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

. There was also concern with Detroit's strong influence over Michigan politics, being the largest city in the state as well as the capital city."Lansing and Its Yesterdays", published by the State Journal Company, Published January 1, 1930 Unable to publicly reach a consensus because of constant political wrangling, the Michigan House of Representatives privately chose the Township of Lansing out of frustration. When announced, many present openly laughed that such an insignificant settlement was now the capital city of Michigan. Two months later, Governor

William L. Greenly William L. Greenly (September 18, 1813November 29, 1883) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as the sixth governor of Michigan. Early life in New York Greenly was born in Hamilton, New York. He graduated from Union College ...

signed into law the act of the legislature officially making Lansing Township the state capital. Persons of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

ancestry have formed the overwhelming majority of the population since the late 19th century. Farmers, mostly of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Scots-Irish immigrants, many of whom arrived from

. Other settlers of the same ancestry migrated from eastern states such as New York, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, as well as from New England. After the land had been lumbered off, farming dominated the rural landscape of Central Michigan. Corn, soy beans, navy beans, and sugar beets are now commercially grown in these areas today. Later 19th- and 20th-century residents included

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrants who migrated from Europe through the

area. Many of the customs, much of the regional lifestyle, and even the local accent, strongly reflect these origins.

Saginaw County Saginaw County, officially the County of Saginaw, is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 190,124. The county seat is Saginaw. The county was created by September 10, 1822, and was fully orga ...

, in particular

Frankenmuth Frankenmuth is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,944 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by Frankenmuth Township. Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which bills itself as "the World's Largest Christ ...

, is such an example of Bavarian Culture in Mid-Michigan. On the eastern edge of the region, a large Canadian influence can be found in St. Clair County where Canadian culture and language has become integrated cities along the Canada–US border. Huron County in the Thumb has a heritage of Polish ancestry, while Clare is known for its Irish roots. The state's economy underwent a transformation at the turn of the 20th century. Many individuals, including

Ransom E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Horace Dodge,

Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln. Early years Henry M. Lela ...

David Dunbar Buick David Dunbar Buick (September 17, 1854 – March 5, 1929) was a Scottish-born American Detroit-based inventor, best known for founding the Buick Motor Company. He headed this company and its predecessor from 1899–1906, thereby helping to ...

, Henry Joy, Charles King, and

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

, provided the concentration of engineering know-how and technological enthusiasm to start the birth of the automotive industry. In Lansing, Olds Motor Vehicle Company was founded in August 1897. The company went through many changes, including a buyout, between its founding to 1905 when founder

started his new

REO Motor Car Company The REO Motor Car Company was a company based in Lansing, Michigan, which produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms. Ransom E. Olds was an entrepreneur who founde ...

, which would last in Lansing for another 70 years. In Flint,

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

's Buick became the largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1908. In 1908, Durant founded General Motors, filing incorporation papers in New Jersey, with headquarters in Flint. GM moved its headquarters to Detroit in the mid-1920s. Durant lost control of GM twice during his lifetime. On the first occasion, he befriended

Louis Chevrolet Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (; December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-American race car driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. Early life Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 25, 18 ...

and founded Chevrolet, which was a runaway success. He used the capital from this success to buy back share control. Flint would later be the site of the GM and

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

Flint sit-down strike. In 1897, Canadian-born chemist

Herbert Henry Dow Herbert Henry Dow (February 26, 1866 – October 15, 1930) was a Canadian-born American chemical industrialist who founded the American multinational conglomerate Dow Chemical. He was a graduate of Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, ...

, who invented a new method of extracting the

bromine Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is the third-lightest element in group 17 of the periodic table ( halogens) and is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a simi ...

that was trapped underground in brine at

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Com ...

formed Dow Chemical. Dow originally sold only bleach and potassium bromide, and has since expanded to be the third largest chemical producer in the world. Beginning in the late 1960s, urban areas including Flint, Saginaw, and Lansing experienced a large amount of deindustrialization and subsequent depopulation and

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...

. As auto jobs were sent elsewhere, rates of crime, unemployment and poverty increased. Initially, this took the form of "

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

" that afflicted many urban industrialized American towns and cities. This decline was exacerbated by the 1973 oil crisis and the U.S. auto industry's subsequent loss of market share to imports. The result meant white families moved to the suburbs, with leaving large

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 forme ...

and

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 ensl ...

populations in the urban centers. In Lansing, recent

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

, the placement of refugees, and international students attending Michigan State have made the Greater Lansing a very culturally diverse area. Michigan remains a leading auto-producing state in the U.S., with the industry primarily located throughout the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and the Southern United States. Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall

Research & development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

(R&D) expenditures in the U.S. Mid-Michigan is home to one of the state's leading research institutions, Michigan State University which makes up the

University Research Corridor The University Research Corridor (URC) is an alliance between Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University to transform, strengthen, and diversify the state of Michigan's economy. The three institutions of the ...

. Michigan's public universities attract more than $1.5 B in research and development grants each year. Founded in 1855 in

as the nation's first

land-grant institution A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...

, Michigan State University has been a pioneer in research and the cultural center of Mid-Michigan. The university has made significant contributions in agriculture and pioneered the studies of packaging, hospitality business,

plant biology Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, supply chain management,

music therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music t ...

, and

communication sciences Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in different ...

. Michigan State frequently ranks among the top 30 public universities in the United States and the top 100 research universities in the world.

Economy

Central Michigan's economy is primarily agricultural, and some

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

manufacturing.

Agriculture

Major crops grown in this region include corn, sugar beets, and soy beans. The

Michigan Sugar Company Michigan Sugar Company is an agricultural cooperative, based in Bay City, Michigan, that specializes in the processing of beet sugar. Founded in 1906, Michigan Sugar sells beet sugar under the brand names ''Big Chief'' and ''Pioneer.'' Michiga ...

, which is a cooperative owned by 1,250 farmers, operates factories in Bay City, Caro, Croswell, and Sebewaing. Livestock and dairy farms also make up the agricultural landscape of Central Michigan.

Koegel Meat Company The Koegel Meat Company is a meat processing, packaging, and distribution company based in Flint, Michigan. Koegel's produces 35 products. Koegel's hot dogs are considered by the authors of "Coney Detroit" as the best hot dog for a Coney Island ho ...

is headquartered in Flint and is a major producer of sausages and processed meats. Lansing based Quality Dairy Company is a major producer of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

and

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

in the region. Quality Dairy is also a significant employer in the region, through its farmers, dairy plant workers, and convenience store employees.

Financial

The largest financial institution in the region is Detroit- headquartered

TCF Financial Corporation TCF Financial Corporation was a bank holding company based in Detroit, Michigan. The current incarnation of the company was formed by a 2019 merger between the former TCF, which was established in 1923 in Wayzata, Minnesota, and the Michigan-b ...

, which is also the second largest Michigan-based bank.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Citizens Republic Bancorp (primary operating name Citizens Bank) was an United States of America, American bank headquartered in Flint, Michigan, Flint, Michigan that merged with FirstMerit Bank in 2013. Citizens Republic Bancorp operated in th ...

was formerly headquartered in Flint, and has since been acquired by

FirstMerit Corporation FirstMerit Corporation was a diversified financial services company headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with assets of approximately $26.2 billion as of June 30, 2016, and 359 banking offices and 400 ATM locations in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinoi ...

, which has been sold to Ohio's Huntington Bank. Grand Rapids-based Independent Bank has a large presence in the region as well. Regional banks and credit unions also exist throughout Central Michigan. One of those is

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) is an American credit union headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion ...

which is the largest university-based credit union in the world.

Government

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

State of 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 the ...

, either with the Michigan Legislature, court system, or executive agencies. The

Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department was founded in 1917 as a wart ...

is headquartered in Lansing, and formerly called East Lansing Home. MSP also has regional posts in Mt. Pleasant, Bay City, Caro, Flint, and Lapeer.

Healthcare

McLaren Health Care Corporation is a major employer in the region, as a non-profit operating nine hospitals in the state. McLaren is headquartered in Flint and has hospitals in

, Lapeer, Bay City, Mt. Pleasant, and Port Huron. Other major healthcare corporations include Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Covenant Hospital in Saginaw, and Lake Huron Medical Center in Port Huron. Furthermore, the

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSUCHM) is an academic division of Michigan State University (MSU), and grants the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. CHM was founded in 1964 as the first community-integrated Medical school i ...

has locations across the region, as does the

University of Michigan Health System Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Universi ...

. Under the name

MidMichigan Health MyMichigan Health is aa American non-profit health system, headquartered in Midland, Michigan, affiliated with Michigan Medicine, the health care division of the University of Michigan. MyMichigan Health covers a 23-county region with medical ce ...

, U of M operates hospitals in Clare, Gladwin, Alma, and Midland.

Insurance

Central Michigan, specifically the Greater Lansing area, is home to many statewide and national

insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

Auto-Owners Insurance Auto-Owners Insurance Group is a mutual insurance company that provides life, home, car, and business insurance. Their policies are sold exclusively through local, independent insurance agents within their 26 operating states. History In 1916, ...

is headquartered in Delta Township and is the largest such company headquartered in the state. In downtown

, workers compensation insurance company

Accident Fund Accident Fund Insurance Company of America is an American workers' compensation insurance company headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. The company is a member of AF Group, a provider of insurance. Insurance policies may be issued by any of the fo ...

has its headquarters. Founded in Jackson but having headquarters in Lansing, Jackson National Life is a life insurance company serving 49 states. Smaller insurer Frankenmuth insurance has its headquarters in

Manufacturing

General Motors operates the

Flint Truck Assembly Flint Assembly is an automobile factory operated by General Motors in Flint, Michigan. It is the city's only main plant after the closure of Buick City. As of 2022, the Flint factory currently produces full-size pickup trucks. Engine block and ...

factory in Flint and Powertrain plants in Flint, Bay City, and Saginaw. Until 2004, Mid-Michigan (specifically

) was also known for being the location of the main

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

plant for General Motors. The plant is now

Lansing Grand River Assembly Lansing Grand River Assembly (LGR) is a General Motors owned and operated automobile assembly facility located in Lansing, Michigan, United States. Lansing Grand River Assembly produces vehicles built upon the GM Alpha platform including the Cad ...

. GM also operates

Lansing Delta Township Assembly Lansing Delta Township Assembly (GM LDT) is a General Motors automobile assembly factory in Delta Township, Michigan on land that is shared by the township and the nearby city of Lansing. It manufactures Chevrolet, and Buick vehicles. Completed ...

in Eaton County. 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 Dow Corning Corporation, was an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Originally established as a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Incorporated, Dow bought out Corning and ...

have their world headquarters in Midland.

Power generation

CMS Energy CMS Energy, based in Jackson, Michigan, is an energy company that is focused principally on utility operations in Michigan. Its principal business is Consumers Energy, a public utility that provides electricity and natural gas to more than 6 mi ...

's subsidiary

Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is an investor owned utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state's Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of C ...

and DTE Energy's

Detroit Edison DTE Electric Company (formerly The Detroit Edison Company) was founded in 1886. DTE Electric's power generation portfolio includes renewable energy, but is primarily generated by fossil fuels. In 2021, 67.32% of electricity generated by DTE came ...

both have a presence in this region and provides much of the electrical power for the lower peninsula of Michigan. CMS operates the Karn-Weadock facility in

Essexville Essexville is a city in Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population at 3,478 at the 2010 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Essexville is part of the Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area. History Essexville is nam ...

, and DTE has plants in Harbor Beach, Greenwood Township, and two plants in

East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Govern ...

(

St. Clair Power Plant The Saint Clair Power Plant was a major coal- and oil-fired power plant owned by DTE Electric, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It was located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the west bank of St. Clair River. The plant was across M-29 from th ...

and

Belle River Power Plant Belle River Power Plant is a major coal- and natural gas-fired power plant owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It is located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the peninsula formed by the St. Clair and Belle rivers. The plant ...

). The

Lansing Board of Water & Light The Lansing Board of Water & Light is a publicly owned, municipal utility that provides electricity and water to the residents of the cities of Lansing and East Lansing, Michigan, and the surrounding townships of Delta, Delhi, Meridian and DeWi ...

has several of its own generating plants in the Greater Lansing area, and the

Midland Cogeneration Venture The Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) is a natural gas-fired electrical and steam co-generation plant in Midland, Michigan owned by Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership. When it began operation in 1991, it was the largest gas-fired st ...

is a partnership in Midland. Renewable energies, specifically

wind farms Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few h ...

are also a rising form of electricity generation in this region. The counties of Gratiot, Tuscola, and

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

are home to many large wind farms. In Lapeer County, DTE Energy owns the largest solar farm in Michigan.

International trade corridor

The I-69 International Trade Corridor is a strategic commercial gateway between the

and

, 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. Constituent counties of the trade corridor are: Shiawassee,

, Lapeer, and St. Clair Counties.

Colleges and universities

Major educational institutions in Central Michigan include: * Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant * Michigan State University in East Lansing *

Michigan State University College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the ...

in East Lansing *

Lansing Community College Lansing Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Lansing, Michigan. Founded in 1957, the college's main campus is located on an urban, site in downtown Lansing spanning seven city blocks approximately two bloc ...

in Lansing * Mid Michigan Community College in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant *

Mott Community College Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is ...

in Flint *

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood University opened as Nort ...

in Midland *

Alma College Alma College is a private liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and offers bachelor ...

in Alma *

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

in Olivet *

Saginaw Valley State University Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, approximately north of ...

in University Center * Thomas M. Cooley Law School (the nation's largest) is headquartered in

. *

University of Michigan–Flint The University of Michigan–Flint (UM-Flint, UMF) is a public university in Flint, Michigan. It is one of the two regional universities operating under the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, the other being the University ...

* Delta College in University Center *

Kettering University Kettering University is a private university in Flint, Michigan. It offers Bachelor of Science, bachelor of science and master's degree, master’s degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM (science, technology, engineeri ...

in Flint *

Baker College Baker College is a private college with its main campus in Owosso, Michigan. It was founded in 1911 and has additional campuses throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The college has been accused of predatory practices. In 2022, a ProP ...

(throughout different areas of Michigan) *

Davenport University Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification progra ...

(throughout different areas of Michigan)

Media

Newspapers

The ''

Lansing State Journal The ''Lansing State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett. Overview The ''Lansing State Journal'' is the sole daily newspaper published in Greater Lansing. The newspaper had an average Monday through ...

'' is the sole daily newspaper published in metropolitan Lansing, and is owned by Gannett, which also owns ''

The Times Herald ''The Times Herald'' is a daily newspaper in Port Huron, Michigan. The newspaper, owned by Gannett, is the only daily paper serving St. Clair County, Michigan as well as parts of Sanilac and Lapeer counties. ''The Times Herald'' history can ...

'' in Port Huron and

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

. The ''

Flint Journal ''The Flint Journal'' is a quad-weekly newspaper based in Flint, Michigan, owned by Booth Newspapers, a subsidiary of Advance Publications. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, it serves Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee Countie ...

'' is available in the Flint and Lapeer areas and is published four times a week. Editions of the '' Bay City Times'', ''

Midland Daily News The ''Midland Daily News'' is a daily newspaper which serves Midland County, Michigan. The offices for the paper are located at 219 East Main Street in downtown Midland; the paper is widely circulated around Midland County. The newspaper also p ...

'' and ''

Saginaw News ''The Saginaw News'' is a newspaper publication based in Saginaw, Michigan, owned by Booth Newspapers, a division of Advance Publications. Published on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays (along with a joint Tuesday edition with ''The Bay City Times ...

'' 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

and the

Huron Daily Tribune The ''Huron Daily Tribune'' is a daily newspaper in Bad Axe, Michigan. The newspaper serves Huron County, in the upper part of "The Thumb". Its parent company, Huron Publishing Company, is owned by Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc. ...

. Mount Pleasant is served by a daily newspaper called ''The Morning Sun''. 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 primari ...

'' 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 available throughout the area.

Radio

The region is served by multiple radio stations. For a complete listing of stations, see one of the following markets: * Lansing Area * Flint Area * Greater Tri-Cities including Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland. * Thumb Area including Port Huron, Sandusky, and Lapeer. * South Central Michigan including Jackson, Adrian, and Hillsdale. * North Central Michigan including Mt. Pleasant, Caddilac, and Alma.

Broadcast television

Television in the Central Michigan area varies from market to market. Availability of stations depends on the reception of aerial signals, as well as availability of cable and satellite in a particular area. In some areas of the region, broadcasts from all three markets can be received over the air. * Lansing/Jackson Market * Flint/Tri-Cities Market * Cadillac / Traverse City Market

Transportation

Airports

Scheduled airline service is offered from Lansing

Capital Region International Airport Capital Region International Airport , formerly Lansing Capital City Airport, is a public, Class C airport located northwest of downtown Lansing in a portion of DeWitt Township, Michigan that has been annexed to the City of Lansing via Pub ...

. Airline service is also available from

MBS International Airport MBS International Airport , located in Freeland, Michigan, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the nearby cities of Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of ...

near

and Flint

Bishop International Airport Bishop International Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport located in Flint, Michigan, United States. It is named after banker and General Motors board member Arthur Giles Bishop (April 12, 1851 – January 22, 1944), who do ...

. Other portions are proximate to Gerald R. Ford International Airport, east of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, and

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport is a county-owned public airport in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, USA, southeast of Downtown Kalamazoo. The airport is located approximately west of the city of Battle Creek. It is incl ...

near Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Railroads

Passenger rail is provided by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

and has stations in East Lansing, Durand, Flint, Lapeer, and Port Huron on its

Blue Water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

line. * The

Great Lakes Central Railroad The Great Lakes Central Railroad is an American Class II regional railroad, operating in the state of Michigan. It was originally called the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway , which was formed on August 26, 1977, to operate over former Penn Cen ...

is a regional railroad operating from Petoskey to Ann Arbor. *

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

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 The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...

, a part of the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

system has a busy line between Port Huron and Chicago, passing through Flint, Durand, and Lansing. * Mid-Michigan Railroad, owned by

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

and operating in the Alma area. * The

Huron and Eastern Railway Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating of track in The Thumb and Flint/Tri-Cities area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from RailAmerica in 2012. Its ...

is also owned by Genesee 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

Major trunkline routes throughout the Mid-Michigan area: * from Port Huron to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, connecting Flint and Lansing. * is a major artery connecting the Tri-Cities with Flint and Detroit. * business route to downtown

. * business route to downtown

. * from Port Huron to Chicago via Detroit, Jackson, and Battle Creek. * from Grand Rapids to Detroit via Lansing. * in the Lansing area. * an east-west route between Ludington and Bay City, connecting multiple communities in between. * co-signed with I-75 through much of the region. * comes from the south, through

, and ends its journey at Grayling. It directly connects

(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 ...

via I-75) to Lansing,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

(all the way down to Chattanooga US 127 is the direct link between the state capital in Lansing and the

Ingham County Ingham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 284,900. The county seat is Mason. Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, is largely located within the county. (Lansing is the only ...

seat in Mason. * runs roughly the same route as I-75 in the Genesee County/Shiawassee County border, the Saginaw County/Genesee County border then into Bay County * runs north and south through Genesee County and Tuscola County and terminates in Bay City. * is an east-west highway connection Mt. Pleasant with Midland * runs east and west, roughly the same route as I-69 in Genesee County and is a direct east-west route connecting St. Johns and Owosso. * runs north and south in Lapeer County and Tuscola County. * is a highway of an arc-like shape closely following the outline of the Thumb along the Lake Huron/Saginaw Bay shoreline between Port Huron and Bay City. It is generally a scenic drive. * is a highway in southwestern and central Michigan from South Haven to Webberville. is east-west surface route nearly bisects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan latitudinally. * — a cross peninsular road, running across the entire mitten including the thumb—from

Port Sanilac Port Sanilac is a village in Sanilac Township, Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 567 at the 2020 census. History This village was originally a lumberjack settlement on the shore of Lake Huron named "Bark Shant ...

on the Lake Huron shore; through Saginaw near Saginaw Bay; and then on to

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

on the Lake Michigan shore. This east-west surface route nearly bisects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan latitudinally. * is a north-south highway connecting Webberville,

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

, Owosso and St. Charles. * (Van Dyke Road) is a gateway route to the Thumb of Michigan, carrying vacationers to the resorts and cottages on Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron in the vicinity of Caseville and Port Austin. It goes up the middle of the Thumb, and directly connects in

Macomb County, Michigan Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous c ...

to the M-53 expressway. * Dort Highway, a main road leading into Flint running roughly the same route as I-475, then follows I-75 to Birch Run

Notable people

More comprehensive lists are available at individual cities, villages, etc.

Lansing

* Jim Cash - Screenwriter '' Top Gun'' and other successful films *

Thom Hartmann Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pr ...

radio talk-show Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

host & author *

Andy Hilbert Andrew John Hilbert (born February 6, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders and the Minnesota Wild ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

hockey player * John Hughes - film director * Magic Johnson - NBA basketball star *

Lisa Kron Elizabeth S. "Lisa" Kron (born May 20, 1961) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for writing the lyrics and book to the musical ''Fun Home'' for which she won both the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award fo ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

actress & playwright *

Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played college football for ...

- NFL football star *

- Automobile Manufacturer; founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company *

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unti ...

- co-founder of

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

.com *

Greg Raymer Gregory Raymer, nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player and author. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event. Early life Raymer's family moved numerous times during his childhood, from his birthplace ...

- 2004

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...

champion * Burt Reynolds - actor *

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

- actor *

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

star and 1996 Cy Young Award winner *Jim "Soni" Sonefeld - drummer &

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

for

Hootie & The Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...

- U.S. Senator - began political career in

* Stevie Wonder - singer, attended the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing (Born and raised in Saginaw, MI) *

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

activist

Tri-Cities and Flint

* Michael Moore - filmmaker, screenwriter, author, journalist, actor, and left-wing political activist from Davison. * Bob Allman – Chicago Bears player (1936) (Bay City Central HS) *

Emil Anneke Emil Anneke (''Emil Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Annecke''; December 13, 1823 in Dortmund – October 27, 1888 in Bay City, Michigan, United States) was a German revolutionary and Forty-Eighter and American journalist, lawyer and politician (Republican ...

– German Forty-Eighter and US politician * Robert Armstrong (1890–1973) - actor, best known for starring role in ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' *

Rolf Armstrong Rolf Armstrong (April 21, 1889 – February 22, 1960) was an American commercial artist specializing in glamorous depictions of female subjects. He is best known for his magazine covers and calendar art. In 1960 the New York Times dubbed him th ...

(1889–1960) – painter and pin-up artist *

Edmund Arnold Edmund C. Arnold (June 25, 1913 – February 2, 2007) was a newspaper designer, considered by many to be the father of modern newspaper design. As a newspaper consultant, he designed more than a thousand newspapers including ''The Boston Globe'' ...

– father of modern

news design News design is the process of arranging material on a newspaper page, according to editorial and graphical guidelines and goals. Main editorial goals include the ordering of news stories by order of importance, while graphical considerations inc ...

* Warren Avis – founder of Avis Rent A Car * Howie Auer —

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

player (1933) *

James A. Barcia James Allan Barcia (born February 25, 1952) is an American Democratic politician from Michigan. He has served successively in the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Senate, the United States House of Representatives and then again th ...

–

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

, state representative, and state senator. *

Gary Bautell Gary Bautell was an American military radio broadcaster living in Germany. He broadcast for the American Forces Network (AFN), where he has worked since 1962. Having worked in Germany for over 50 years, Bautell has become involved in promoting G ...

– military radio broadcaster with the American Forces Network * James G. Birney (1792–1857) - presidential candidate 1844 and 1848 Liberty Party, a founder of Bay City * Ruth Born (1925–) - All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Nathan B. Bradley - first mayor of Bay City,

, state senator *

Betsy Brandt Betsy Brandt (born March 14, 1973) is an American actress. She portrayed Marie Schrader in ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spinoff show, ''Better Call Saul'' (2022) and played Heather Hughes in the CBS sitcom ''Life in Pieces'' (2015� ...

- actress, '' Breaking Bad'', '' The Michael J. Fox Show'' * Madonna – singer, actress, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy and Golden Globe award winner, was born in Bay City; she grew up in

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 76,300. It is the 14th-largest city in Michigan. The area was first occupied by settlers of European descent in 1 ...

* Spoke Emery –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Eric Esch Eric Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966), better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler who competed in the heavyweight division. He is also a televis ...

– Super Heavyweight Champion boxer, kickboxer, and martial artist * Troy Evans (b.1977) – NFL linebacker, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints * John Garrels – silver and bronze Olympic medal winner * Sanford M. Green, Michigan jurist and politician * Ernie Gust –

player *

Harriet Hammond Harriet Hammond (October 20, 1899 – September 23, 1991) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1918 and 1930. Hammond, who was appearing in prominent roles in the Mack Sennett comedy feature ...

(1899–1991) - silent-film actress * Bill Hewitt – Chicago Bears 1932–1936,

1937–1939, Phil-Pitt Steagles,

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

Alex Izykowski Alex "Izzy" Izykowski (born January 26, 1984) is an American short track speed skater. He competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics of Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northe ...

–

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

bronze medalist in

short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

Edward Jablonski Edward Jablonski (March 1, 1922 – February 10, 2004) was the author of several biographies on American cultural personalities, such as George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Alan Jay Lerner, and Irving Berlin, as well as books on aviation history. ...

(1923–2004) - author, music archivist and aviation-aerial warfare historian *

Jim Kanicki James Henry Kanicki (born December 17, 1941 in Bay City, Michigan) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. He played college football at Michigan State Un ...

–

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, and New York Giants 1960–62 (Bay City Central HS) * Thomas G. Kavanagh - Michigan Supreme Court justice * Bruce LaFrance – Tantric musician * John List – mass murderer * Jason "The Michigan Kid" Lynch – professional billiards trick-shot artist * George Kid Lavigne – boxer, world lightweight champion 1896, and inductee of

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

(1998) *

Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...

– 500m speed skating gold medalist in Innsbruck

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

– businessman, co-founder of Wenona, Michigan, now part of Bay City,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

philanthropist *

Tyler McVey William Tyler McVey (February 14, 1912 – July 4, 2003) was an American character actor of film and television. Early years McVey was born Bay City, Michigan, to William David McVey and his wife, the former Jessie Arvilla Tyler. His moth ...

(1912–2003) - actor

Thumb area

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

- Inventor and entrepreneur settled in Port Huron from 1854 to 1863. * Brewster H. Shaw - retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

colonel and former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronaut from Cass City. *

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

- Detroit mayor, Michigan governor, U.S. Attorney General and Justice of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

born in Harbor Beach. * Marguerite de Angeli, children's book author,

Newbery Award The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

winner *

Terry Knight Terry Knight (born Richard Terrance Knapp; April 9, 1943 – November 1, 2004) was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but ...

, singer, DJ, manager,

Terry Knight and the Pack Terry Knight and the Pack (also known as The Pack and The Fabulous Pack) was an American garage rock band formed in Flint, Michigan in 1965. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label through most of its brief recording career. They produced ...

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

* Jake Long, offensive lineman,

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

Terry Nichols Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted of being an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevato ...

, accomplice in the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...

* Jim Slater, hockey player Atlanta Thrashers *

Obadiah Gardner Obadiah Gardner (September 13, 1852July 24, 1938) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. Gardner was a businessman and member of the Democratic Party who served in several minor state executive positions before serving in the ...

- US Senator for Maine *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

- Award-winning author of ''

Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romance film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMil ...

'', and ''

How Stella Got Her Groove Back ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillan's best-selling 1996 novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs (in his film ...

'' *Gabriel Rheaume - Writer - ''The Shores We Walk'', from Deckerville.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Lansing home page and history

Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on Michigan (arranged by counties and regions)

* ttp://www.michigan.gov/dnr Michigan Department of Natural Resources website, harbors, hunting, resources and more.
Info Michigan, detailed information on 630 cities

Michigan's Official Economic Development and Travel Site, including interactive map, information on attractions, museums, etc.

Michigan Historic Markers

Michigan's Official Economic Development and Travel Site.
{{Michigan Regions of Michigan Geography of Michigan