Central Michigan

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

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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. 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, with a few cities of moderate size.

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's economy is primarily agricultural. Major crops include corn, sugar beets, and soy beans. The major educational institutions in Central Michigan are 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, and Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor. Thomas M. Cooley Law School (the nation's largest) is headquartered in Lansing.

Until 2004, Mid-Michigan (specifically Lansing) was also known for being the location of the main Oldsmobile plant for General Motors.

1 Geography
2 Transportation
3 Notable People
- 3.1 Lansing
4 Notes
5 External links
6 See also

Geography

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

Most of the area is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing^[1]

Transportation

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]

Major Highways

Major roads

Interstate highways

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

US highways

Image:US 12.svg US-12 also known as Michigan Avenue and Chicago Road

Image:US 127.svg 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.

Michigan highways

Image:M-43.svg M-43 (Saginaw Highway) is a highway in southwestern and central Michigan from South Haven to Webberville.

Image:M-46.svg M-46 -- a cross peninsular road, running across the entire mitten icluding 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.