Central Michigan Information & Central Michigan Links at HealthHaven.com

This article is about the geographic region, for the university of the same name, see Central Michigan University.

Regions of the Lower Peninsula, with Mid-Michigan applied to the central part of the state.

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

[edit] Economy

Central Michigan's economy is primarily agricultural, and some automobile manufacturing. Major crops include corn, sugar beets, and soy beans. Until 2004, Mid-Michigan (specifically Lansing) was also known for being the location of the main Oldsmobile plant for General Motors.

[edit] Geography

Central Michigan can include just the "Central Michigan" region on this map or also "Southern Michigan"

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

The definitions of Central Michigan and Mid-Michigan can vary significantly, depending on one's point of reference. Important cities in Central Michigan include Lansing (the capital of Michigan), Jackson, East Lansing, Okemos, Mt. Pleasant, Grand Ledge, Alma, Ithaca, and Clare. Local media, most notably television and radio stations, refer to Flint, Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City areas as "Mid-Michigan"; For this area see Flint/Tri-Cities.
Central Michigan can also include parts or all of Southern Michigan.
Most of the area is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing^[1]

[edit] Colleges and universities

Major educational institutions in Central Michigan:

Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant
Michigan State University in East Lansing
Lansing Community College in Lansing
Mid-Michigan Community College in Harrison and Mt. Pleasant
Albion College in Albion
Alma College in Alma
Hillsdale College in Hillsdale
Olivet College in Olivet
Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor.
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (the nation's largest) is headquartered in Lansing.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airports

Scheduled airline service is offered from Lansing Capital City Airport.^[2]
Portions of Central Michigan are near Midland and Flint. Scheduled airline service is also available from MBS International Airport^[3] near Midland, Michigan and Flint Bishop International Airport.^[4]
Other portions are proximate to Gerald R. Ford International Airport, which is east of Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[5]

[edit] Major Highways

[edit] Major roads

[edit] Interstate highways

I-69.
I-94.
I-96.
I-496 (R.E. Olds Freeway).
I-69 Business Loop or BL I-69 is a loop route running through Lansing.
I-96 Business Loop or BL I-96 is a loop route running through Lansing.

[edit] US highways

US-12 also known as Michigan Avenue and Chicago Road
US-127 comes from the South, through Lansing, and ends its 758 mile (1,220 km) journey at Grayling^[6]. It directly connects northern Michigan (and the Mackinac Bridge via US I-75) to Lansing, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee (all the way down to Chatanooga)^[7] US-127 is the direct link between the state capital in Lansing and the Ingham County seat in Mason.

[edit] Michigan highways

M-43 (Saginaw Highway) is a highway in southwestern and central Michigan from South Haven to Webberville.
M-46 -- a cross peninsular road, running across the entire mitten including the thumb—from Port Sanilac on the Lake Huron shore; through Saginaw near Saginaw Bay; and then on to Muskegon on the Lake Michigan shore.^[8] This east-west surface route nearly bisects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan latitudinally.
M-66
M-99 (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd).
M-100

[edit] Railways

Main article: Michigan Services

[edit] Notable people

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

[edit] Lansing

Martin Bertram - author of medieval novel Vanity of Vanities
Jim Cash - Screenwriter Top Gun and other successful films
Thom Hartmann - radio talk-show host & author
Andy Hilbert - NHL hockey player
John Hughes - film director
Magic Johnson - NBA basketball star
Lisa Kron - theatre actress & playwright
Muhsin Muhammad - NFL football star
Ransom E. Olds - Automobile Manufacturer; founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company
Larry Page - co-founder of Google.com
Greg Raymer - 2004 World Series of Poker champion
Burt Reynolds - actor
Steven Seagal - actor
John Smoltz - MLB star and 1996 Cy Young Award winner
Jim "Soni" Sonefeld - drummer & percussionist for Hootie & The Blowfish
Debbie Stabenow - U.S. Senator - began political career in Ingham County
Stevie Wonder - singer, attended the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing (Born and raised in Saginaw, MI)
Malcolm X - human rights activist

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

[0] Archdiocese of Lansing home page and history

[1] Lansing Capital City Airport

[2] MBS International Airport

[3] Flint Bishop International Airport

[4] Gerald R. Ford International Airport

[5] Picture of northern terminus US 127 at Grayling, Michigan

[6] Endpoints of US highways

[7] M-46 Endpoint Photos.

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