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African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
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Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American Native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples. This grouping consists of peoples that speak Algonquian languages.
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Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. They comprise the third largest minority group in the United States. The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asian, which includes individuals of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian origin.
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Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.
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Belgian American
Belgian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Belgian ancestry. 'Belgian' is not always considered an ethnic term (Fleming and Walloon are more specific in pointing out of which part of Belgium the ancestors come from, since there is no ethnic division Flemish and Walloons), and hence does not necessarily refer to a specific people with a specific language and culture. There were no Belgians (and thus no Belgian Americans either) prior to 1830, the de jure establishment of Belgium (although the name 'Belgium' was already used prior 1830 to distinguish the Southern Netherlands from the Netherlands). Prior to this, immigrants from the region that is present-day Belgium identified themselves as either Dutch or French Americans, hence tracing family roots to a place in Belgium does not make one a Belgian American .
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Brian Calley
Brian Calley (born March 25, 1977) is an American banker and Republican politician from Portland, Michigan. He is currently a member of the Michigan House of Representatives and the 2010 Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor.
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British American
British Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). The term is seldom used by people to refer to themselves (1,113,762 chose it in the 2008 American Community Survey) and is used primarily as a demographic or historical research term. In the modern age, it can refer to British people who live and work in the United States (some of who become American citizens), and Americans who do the same in the United Kingdom.
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Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin (born June 28, 1934) is a Democratic United States Senator from Michigan and is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. In the Senate since 1979, he has been Michigan's senior senator since 1995. He has served as a U.S. Senator longer than any Senator in Michigan history. He was elected to a sixth term in 2008, which will end in January 2015. He is the younger brother of U.S. Representative Sander M. Levin.
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Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren (20 October 1632 – 25 February 1723) was one of the best known and highest acclaimed English architects in history,
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Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois (, runner of the woods) was a French woodsman, who travelled to the interior of Canada to engaged in the fur trade with the natives without permission from the French authorities. The Coureurs de Bois was an adventurer, expert canoeist, and skilled businessmen. The coureurs de bois, mostly of French descent, operated during the late 17th century and early 18th century in eastern North America, particularly in New France. Later, a limited number of permits were issued to coureurs des bois who became known as voyageurs.
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Debbie Stabenow
Deborah Ann Greer "Debbie" Stabenow (born April 29, 1950) is the junior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to the U.S. Senate, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001. She previously served as a member of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners (1975–1978), Michigan House of Representatives (1979–1990), and Michigan Senate (1991–1994).
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Dutch American
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Finnish American
A Dutch American is an American of Dutch descent.
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Franco American
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French American
Finnish Americans are Americans of Finnish descent, who currently number about 700,000.
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George H.W. Bush
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Gerald Ford
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of French descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.
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German American
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Germans
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he also became the only President of the United States who was elected neither President nor Vice-President.
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Harry Truman
German Americans comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group. California, Texas and Pennsylvania have the largest numbers of German origin, although upper Midwestern states, including Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and The Dakotas, have the highest proportion of German Americans at over one-third.
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Henry Ford
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Iraqi Americans
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Irish American
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, founder of the Ford Motor Company and developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism", that is, mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put a dealership in every city in North America, and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently.
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Italian American
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Jacques Marquette
Irish Americans () are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. An estimated total of 36,278,332 Americans—11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey. The only self-reported ancestral group larger than Irish Americans are German Americans. In addition another 3.5 million Americans identify more specifically with Scots-Irish ancestry. The Irish are widely dispersed in terms of geography, and occupations. Irish American political leaders have played a major role in local and national politics since before the American Revolutionary War; eight Irish Americans signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and 22 American Presidents, from Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama, have been at least partly of Irish ancestry. (See "American Presidents with origins in Ireland" below.)
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Jennifer Granholm
An Italian American ( singular, plural) is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.
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John Engler
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 10, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan. In 1673 Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet were the first Europeans to see and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River.
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John McCain
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-born American politician, former Attorney General of Michigan, and the 47th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor John Engler. Granholm was re-elected on November 7, 2006, and was sworn in for her second and, due to term limits, final term on January 1, 2007. She has been mentioned as a potential Supreme Court justice for President Barack Obama. She was a member of the transition team for the presidency of President Obama before he assumed office on January 20, 2009.
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Lebanese American
John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003.
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Louis XIV of France
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election.
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Macedonian American
Lebanese Americans are American citizens of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States as well as Lebanese immigrants to America. The vast majority of them are Christians, in particular Maronite Catholic. Lebanese Americans are the largest Arab group in America, comprising 0.16% of the American population as of the American Community Survey estimations for year 2007, and 32.4% of all Arab Americans. Although some people of Lebanese descent do not identify themselves as Arab, but rather as Syriac or Phoenician. Over three million Americans are estimated to have at least partial Lebanese ancestry according to Lebanese American activists.
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Mackinac Island
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Menominee
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Miami (tribe)
Macedonian Americans () are Americans of ethnic Macedonian descent.
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Michigander
Mackinac Island ( ) is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It served a strategic position amidst the commerce of the Great Lakes fur trade. This led to the establishment of Fort Mackinac on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the scene of two battles during the War of 1812.
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Mike Ilitch
Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.
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Non-Hispanic Whites
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Ojibwe
Michiganian and Michigander are demonyms for residents of the U.S. state of Michigan. But people who call Michigan their home use the word they like best. There is no "official" term. Less common alternatives include Michiganer, Michiganite, Michiganese, and Michigine. Residents in the Upper Peninsula more typically refer to themselves as Yoopers instead.
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Polish American
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. (born Michael Ilievski, July 20, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan is an entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise. He has been at the center of Detroit's downtown redevelopment efforts when he purchased and renovated the Fox Theatre, and relocated his headquarters into its offices. He is a first generation American of Macedonian descent. He is married to Marian Bayoff Ilitch.
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Potawatomi
The terms Non-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic refers to people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the white race but not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. They are of white race from colonial origin, Europe, North Africa, Middle East, South Asia,Canada, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans are white; like the overall non-Hispanic population of the United States, Hispanics and Latinos can be of any race: white, black, Asian, etc, as race and ethnicity are considered independent of each other. Since the population of descendants of people from Spain in the United States is vastly outnumbered by those from Spain's former colonies, the Non-Hispanic White category can also be effectively used to give a good estimate of the directly descended European population in the United States (European Americans).
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Richard Nixon
The Ojibwe (also Ojibwa or Ojibway) or Chippewa (also Chippeway) are among the largest groups of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They are equally divided between the United States and Canada. Because they were formerly located mainly around Sault Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior, the French referred to them as Saulteurs. Ojibwe who subsequently moved to the prairie provinces have retained the name Saulteaux. Ojibwe who were originally located about the Mississagi River and made their way to southern Ontario are known as the Mississaugas.
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Rick Snyder
A Polish American (), is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 9–10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States. There is no distinction made between a non-ethnic Pole born in the territory of Poland, like a Jew or Ukrainian who considers themselves a Polish national, in the American census. Therefore, of the 10 million Poles in the United States, only a certain portion are of Polish ethnic descent.
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Ronald Reagan
The Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie and Pottawatomi, among many variations) are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied to them by their Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) cousins. They originally called themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe. The Potawatomi were part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibwe and Ottawa. In the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi were considered the "youngest brother."
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Scandinavian people
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974, having formerly been the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. A member of the Republican Party, he was the only President to resign the office as well as the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency.
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Scottish American
Richard D. (Rick) Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is CEO, Chair of the Board and co-founder of Ardesta LLC, a venture capital firm located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Snyder previously served as CEO and Chairman of Gateway, Inc. On July 21, 2009, Rick Snyder announced his intention to become a politician and campaign for Governor of Michigan as a Republican in the 2010 election. On August 3, 2010, Snyder won the gubernatorial primary to become the Republican nominee.
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Sichuan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975).
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Theodore Roosevelt
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Thomas E. Dewey
Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: Ameireaganaich Albannach) are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. According to American Community Survey in 2008 data, Americans reporting Scottish ancestry made up an estimated 1.9% of the total U.S. population. Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry represent 3.1% of the U.S. population in 2008.
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Tom Monaghan
(zh|c=; Sichuanese Pinyin: Si4cuan1; ; Postal map spelling: Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 (Sìchuān), is an abbreviation of 四川路 (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
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voyageurs
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) His last name is, according to Roosevelt himself, "pronounced as if it was spelled 'Rosavelt.' That is in three syllables. The first syllable as if it was 'Rose.'" ; An [http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/record.cfm?recordid=509 Audio recording] in which Roosevelt pronounces his own last name distinctly. To listen at the correct speed, slow the recording down by 20%. Retrieved on July 12, 2007. ) was the 26th President of the United States. He is noted for his energetic personality, range of interests and achievements, leadership of the Progressive Movement, and his "cowboy" image and robust masculinity. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party of 1912. Before becoming President (1901–1909) he held offices at the municipal, state, and federal level of government. Roosevelt's achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician.
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Wendell Willkie
Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was the 47th Governor of New York (1943–1954). In 1944 and 1948, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost both times. He led the liberal faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft. Dewey advocated for the professional and business community of the Northeastern United States, which would later be called the "Eastern Establishment." This organization accepted the majority of New Deal social-welfare reforms enacted during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It consisted of internationalists who were in favor of the United Nations and the "Cold War" fought against communism and the Soviet Union. In addition, he played a large part in the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President in 1952. Dewey's successor as leader of the liberal Republicans was Nelson Rockefeller, who became governor of New York in 1959. The New York State Thruway is named in Dewey's honor.
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White American
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan (born March 25, 1937 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992.
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William Howard Taft
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Wyandot people
Wendell Lewis Willkie (; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was a corporate lawyer in the United States and was the dark horse Republican Party nominee for the 1940 presidential election, where he crusaded against the policies of the New Deal, which he thought were inefficient and anti-business, but waffled on the issue of intervention or isolation in the world war that Nazi Germany was winning. His opponent Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term, with 55% of the popular vote and 85% of the electoral vote. Roosevelt found Willkie to be a compatible liberal and brought him aboard as a special ambassador-at-large. Willkie criss-crossed the globe, bringing home a vision of "One World" freed from imperialism and colonialism. His liberalism lost him supporters in the GOP and he dropped out of the 1944 race, then died of a heart attack.
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Yemeni American
White American (often used interchangeably with "Caucasian American" and, within the United States, simply "white") is an umbrella term officially employed by some U.S. government agencies, per standards issued by the Office of Management and Budget, for the classification of United States citizens or resident aliens "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa". Like all U.S. racial categories, White American has a "Not Hispanic or Latino" and a "Hispanic or Latino" component, the latter consisting mostly of White Mexican Americans.
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Étienne Brûlé
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. He is the only person to have served in both offices.
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Algonac is a city in St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,613 at the 2000 census.
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Alpena () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 11,304 at the 2000 census. The population swells with a large number of visitors in the summer.
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Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a population of 114,024, of which 36,892 (32%) were university students. The 2009 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 112,852, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The city is part of the Detroit – Ann Arbor – Flint, MI CSA. As such, it is also part of Greater Metropolitan Detroit/Windsor, the world's third-largest international metropolitan area.
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Arkansas ( ) is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. The capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state.
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The Battle of the Thames, also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was a decisive American victory in the War of 1812. It took place on October 5, 1813, near present-day Chatham, Ontario in Upper Canada. It resulted in the death of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, and the destruction of the Native American coalition which he led.
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Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2000 census, the city's population was 36,817, with the 2009 census estimate placing the population at 33,780. It is the county seat of Bay County and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North Combined Statistical Area. The city, along with nearby Midland and Saginaw, form the "Tri-Cities" region.
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:For the downtown Detroit, Michigan office tower known as "Cadillac Tower", see Cadillac Tower.
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Cadillac () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115. Approximately five miles north-northwest of Cadillac lies the geographic center of Michigan.
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Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario is one of four casinos in the Detroit-Windsor area. Owned by the government of the province of Ontario (through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation), it is operated by Harrah's Entertainment. Both the original Casino Windsor and the new expansion were designed by WZMH Architects. The casino is located on Windsor's riverfront overlooking the Detroit skyline near the Canadian end of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The creation of this casino was a leading factor in the legalization of casino gambling in Detroit.
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Canada () is a country in North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.
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Dearborn is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, and is the tenth largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 97,775. The city is the hometown of Henry Ford and the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company. It has a campus of the University of Michigan as well as Henry Ford Community College.
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Detroit () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city where Canada can be viewed by looking to the south. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the Frenchman Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Its name originates from the French word détroit () for strait, in reference to its location on the river connecting the Great Lakes.
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Escanaba (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie. It is the county seat of Delta County.
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Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 124,943. The 2009 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 111,475, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan. Genesee County is also the entirety of Flint's metropolitan area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan.
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Florida () is a state of the United States. It is located in the Southeastern United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. Much of the state's land mass is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean to the south. Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state in 1845, after a three hundred year period of European colonization.
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Gaylord is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,681. It is the county seat of Otsego County.
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Georgia () is a state located in the southeastern United States. Georgia was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15, 1870 and the only among the 13 that is explicitly named after a monarch; King George II of England.
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The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater seas located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface and volume. The total surface is , and the total volume is The lakes are sometimes referred to as the North Coast or "Third Coast" by some citizens of the United States. The Great Lakes hold 21 percent of the world's surface fresh water.
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Greektown Casino Resort (2009) in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casinos in the city, and one of four in the Detroit-Windsor area. Greektown Casino, LLC was majority owned by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians until it filed for and emerged from bankruptcy, it is now owned by two new investors group Greektown Superholdings, Inc. and Greektown Newco Sub Inc. The casino which opened its doors on November 11, 2000, was operated by Millennium Management Group.
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Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (also known locally as the Black River). The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with in Ottawa and the remaining in Allegan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 35,048, with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 34,076 with an Urbanized Area population of 95,394. The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 260,364 as of July 1, 2008. Holland was founded by Dutch Americans, and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage who live in communities with such Dutch names as Harlem, Zeeland, Vriesland, Drenthe, Groningen and Graafschap. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America.
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Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,010. It is the county seat of Houghton County. It has been listed as one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America."[http://books.google.com/books?vid=08Ecwzx6-TTN6uYqkb&id;=4rkYAAAAIAAJ&pg;=PA180&lpg;=PA180&dq;=Houghton,+Michigan]
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Illinois ( {{respell|-i-), is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. It is the most populous state in the Midwest region, however with 65% of its residents concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, most of the state has either a rural or a small town character. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. As the "most average state", Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics, though the latter has not really been true since the early 1970s.
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Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The population was 6,293 at the 2000 census. The city is on US 2 and is situated opposite the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude (90.2 degrees West) as St. Louis, Missouri.
http://wn.com/Ironwood_Michigan -
Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park. It is , with a long "I" in Isle and the accent on the first syllable of Royale, not the second.
http://wn.com/Isle_Royale -
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 36,316. It is the principal city of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Jackson County.
http://wn.com/Jackson_Michigan -
Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon), officially the State of Japan ( or Nihon-koku), is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin" (because it lies to the east of nearby countries), which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
http://wn.com/Japan -
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 166 miles (267 km) long from the headwaters of the southern branch to Lake Michigan. The river's watershed drains an area of approximately 2,020 square miles (5,230 km²) and drains portions of eight counties in southwest Michigan: Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Hillsdale, Kent and Ottawa. The river has a median flow of 1863 cubic feet per second (52.8 m³/s) at New Richmond, Michigan, upstream from its mouth at Saugatuck, Michigan.
http://wn.com/Kalamazoo_River -
Kalamazoo () is the largest city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 77,145. It is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 326,634 as of 2009.
http://wn.com/Kalamazoo_Michigan -
Kent County, area 2,458 sq km (949 sq mi) is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. Population in 2006 was 108,589.
http://wn.com/Kent_County_Ontario -
The Keweenaw Peninsula (, roughly ) is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. Its major industries are now logging and tourism, as well as jobs related to Michigan Technological University and Finlandia University.
http://wn.com/Keweenaw_Peninsula -
http://wn.com/Lansing_MI -
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located about west-northwest of Detroit and is mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County and Clinton County. As of the July 1, 2009 Census Bureau estimate, it has a population of 113,802 and a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population of 453,603. The even larger Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population, which includes Shiawassee County, is estimated at 523,609.
http://wn.com/Lansing_Michigan -
Little Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay.
http://wn.com/Little_Bay_de_Noc -
Little Traverse Bay is a small bay, 170 feet (55 m) deep, off Lake Michigan in the northern area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Harbor Springs and Petoskey are on this bay.
http://wn.com/Little_Traverse_Bay -
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 100,545 at the 2000 census. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 91,220, making it the ninth largest city in Michigan. The municipality is a part of Metro Detroit, and located approximately northwest from downtown Detroit, and less than two miles (3 km) from the western city limits of Detroit (Redford Township lies in between the two).
http://wn.com/Livonia_Michigan -
Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from ministigweyaa, "river with islands at its mouth". Other sources claim that it was an Ojibwe term meaning "spirit of the woods."
http://wn.com/Manistee_Michigan -
Manistique is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,583. It is the county seat of Schoolcraft County and the only incorporated community in the county. The city lies on the north shore of Lake Michigan, at the southwest corner of Manistique Township, but is politically autonomous.
http://wn.com/Manistique_Michigan -
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism.
http://wn.com/Manitoba -
http://wn.com/Marquette_MI -
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 19,661 at the 2000 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern Michigan University. The city of Marquette averages about 141 inches of snow per year, making it the fifth snowiest city in the United States among those cities large enough to be reported.
http://wn.com/Marquette_Michigan -
Menominee is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,131. It is the county seat of Menominee County. Menominee is the fourth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula, behind Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Escanaba. Menominee Township is located to the north of the city, but is politically autonomous.
http://wn.com/Menominee_Michigan -
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area linking the Great Lakes system. U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM) is headquartered in Metro Detroit together with Selfridge Air National Guard Base. As a major metropolitan area, it is known for its automotive heritage, arts, and popular music legacies.
http://wn.com/Metro_Detroit -
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. While the vast majority of the city exists within Midland County, a small portion of the city extends into Bay County. Most of the city's area is incorporated from Midland Township.
http://wn.com/Midland_Michigan -
Minnesota () is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.27 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858. Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the state's name comes from a Dakota word for "sky-tinted water". Those waters, together with forests, parks, and wilderness areas, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.
http://wn.com/Minnesota -
Mio () is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Oscoda County and is situated along the boundary between Mentor Township on the east and Big Creek Township on the west.
http://wn.com/Mio_Michigan -
Mission Point Light is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of Old Mission Point, a peninsula jutting into Grand Traverse Bay north of Traverse City. When it was built in 1870, it was an exact copy of the Mama Juda Lighthouse (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866.
http://wn.com/Mission_Point_Light -
Morrice is a village located within Perry Township in Shiawassee County, of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 882. The center of population of Michigan is located in Morrice [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt].
http://wn.com/Morrice_Michigan -
http://wn.com/Motor_City_Casino -
Muskegon (mus-kēg'n) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 40,105. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County. The city is located at the southwest corner of Muskegon Township, but is administratively autonomous.
http://wn.com/Muskegon_Michigan -
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 12,204 at the 2000 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area.
http://wn.com/Niles_Michigan -
Novi is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 47,386. In 2007, the city completed a special census which places the current population at 52,231. The city is located approximately northwest from the center of Detroit, and northeast from the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located within the boundaries of the survey township of Novi Township. The remaining unincorporated township is only a tiny fraction surrounded by the city.
http://wn.com/Novi_Michigan -
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,
http://wn.com/Ohio -
Ontario is a Province of Canada located in the east-central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area, (Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are larger in area, but they are not provinces.) The province's largest metropolitan area and Canada's most populous city, Toronto, is the capital city of Ontario. The national capital of Canada, Ottawa, is located in Ontario as well.
http://wn.com/Ontario -
http://wn.com/Ontario_Canada -
Pentwater is a village in Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 958 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township. Pentwater is home to Mears State Park. The name Pentwater comes from Pent or Penned up waters. The entrance to the channel is notoriously shallow and for many years dictated the size of vessels that the village was able to accommodate.
http://wn.com/Pentwater_Michigan -
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 66,337. It is the county seat of Oakland County. Considered a satellite city of Detroit, it is surrounded by affluent Metro Detroit suburbs.
http://wn.com/Pontiac_Michigan -
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 32,338 at the 2000 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia, Ontario in Canada. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Huron and is the easternmost point on land in Michigan. Port Huron is home to a Domtar Paper Mill; Mueller Industries; Henkel and many companies related to the automobile industry. The city also features a historic downtown area, boardwalk, marina, museum, lighthouse, and the McMorran Place arena and entertainment complex.
http://wn.com/Port_Huron_Michigan -
Romulus is a suburban city of Metro Detroit, located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,979 at the 2000 census. Romulus is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and a General Motors plant (Romulus Engine) which opened in 1976. The city is the most western community in the Downriver area in Wayne County.
http://wn.com/Romulus_Michigan -
Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area. It is located in parts of five Michigan counties: Arenac, Bay, Huron, Iosco, and Tuscola.
http://wn.com/Saginaw_Bay -
The Saginaw River is a 22-mile-long (35 km) river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southeast of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City.
http://wn.com/Saginaw_River -
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan. It is located adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of the Tri-Cities area, along with Bay City and Midland. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 61,799. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 55,238.
http://wn.com/Saginaw_Michigan -
Sarnia is a city in Southern (Southwestern) Ontario, Canada (city population 71,419, census area population 88,793, in 2006). It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River.
http://wn.com/Sarnia_Ontario -
({{zh|c=; Sichuanese Pinyin: Si4cuan1; ; Postal map spelling: Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 (Sìchuān), is an abbreviation of 四川路 (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
http://wn.com/Sichuan -
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the International Boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is also a significant component in the Great Lakes Waterway with shipping channels permitting cargo vessels to travel between the upper and lower Great Lakes.
http://wn.com/St_Clair_River -
Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.
http://wn.com/St_Ignace_Michigan -
St. Joseph is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about 60 miles east-northeast of Chicago. It is the county seat of Berrien County. St. Joseph is the site of the Venetian Festival, an event that draws thousands annually to its shores. It is also home of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
http://wn.com/St_Joseph_Michigan -
The Tahquamenon River is a long blackwater river in the U.S. state of Michigan that flows in a generally eastward direction through the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula. It drains approximately of the Upper Peninsula, including large sections of Luce County and Chippewa County. It begins in the Tahquamenon Lakes in northeast Columbus Township of Luce County and empties into Lake Superior near the village of Paradise. M-123 runs alongside a portion of the river.
http://wn.com/Tahquamenon_River -
Troy is an affluent city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,959 at the 2000 census, making it the 12th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the second-largest city in Oakland County after Farmington Hills. Troy has become a business and shopping destination in the Metro Detroit area, with numerous office centers and the upscale Somerset Collection mall.
http://wn.com/Troy_Michigan -
Ubly is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 873 at the 2000 census. The village is within Bingham Township.
http://wn.com/Ubly_Michigan -
The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
http://wn.com/United_States -
http://wn.com/Upper_Peninsula -
Vanderbilt is a village in Otsego County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 587 at the 2000 census.
http://wn.com/Vanderbilt_Michigan -
Walpole Island is an island and the name of a community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the border between Ontario and Michigan in the United States. It is located in the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, approximately thirty miles (50 km) northeast of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.
http://wn.com/Walpole_Island -
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 138,247, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb. Warren was also home to rapper Eminem.
http://wn.com/Warren_Michigan -
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is across the Detroit River and south of Detroit, Michigan in the United States. Windsor is known as The City of Roses and residents are known as Windsorites.
http://wn.com/Windsor_Ontario -
Wisconsin () is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Upper Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee. As of 2009 the state has an estimated 5.6 million residents. The state contains 72 counties.
http://wn.com/Wisconsin
- 45th parallel north
- 50 State Quarters
- African American
- Algonac, Michigan
- Algonquian peoples
- Alpena, Michigan
- Ambassador Bridge
- American Civil War
- American football
- American Revolution
- American Robin
- Americans
- Amtrak
- Amway
- Anishinaabe language
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Apple
- Arab American
- architect
- Arkansas
- arpent
- Asian American
- Ballpark Franks
- Barack Obama
- baseball
- basketball
- Battle of Lake Erie
- Battle of the Thames
- Bay City, Michigan
- Belgian American
- Blue Water Bridge
- Boeing 747
- Brian Calley
- British American
- Brook trout
- Cadillac Place
- Cadillac, Michigan
- Caesars Windsor
- Canada
- Carl Levin
- Celsius
- center of population
- Central Michigan
- Chapter 11
- Charter township
- Cheboygan River
- Chicago, Illinois
- Chlorastrolite
- Christmas trees
- Christopher Wren
- Civil township
- Class I railroad
- CMS Energy
- Cobo Arena
- Comerica Park
- commuter rail
- Copper Country
- coral
- Coureur des bois
- CSX Transportation
- David Chardavoyne
- Daylight saving time
- Dearborn, Michigan
- Debbie Stabenow
- deep-water port
- Delta Air Lines
- Detroit
- Detroit Dragway
- Detroit Free Press
- Detroit Grand Prix
- Detroit Lions
- Detroit Pistons
- Detroit Red Wings
- Detroit River
- Detroit Tigers
- Detroit Zoo
- Detroit, MI
- Detroit, Michigan
- Devonian
- Domino's Pizza
- Dow Chemical Company
- Drummond Island
- Dutch American
- Dwarf Lake Iris
- Eastern White Pine
- engineering
- English American
- Erie Canal
- Escanaba River
- Escanaba, Michigan
- ethnic
- European American
- executive branch
- Fahrenheit
- Faygo
- Finnish American
- Fisher Building
- Flag of Michigan
- Flint, Michigan
- Flint/Tri-Cities
- Florida
- Ford Field
- forest
- Fort Michilimackinac
- Fort Pontchartrain
- Fort Wayne (Detroit)
- Franco American
- Franklin Roosevelt
- freight rail
- French American
- fur trade
- furniture
- Gaylord, Michigan
- GE Aviation Systems
- George H.W. Bush
- Georgia (U.S. state)
- Gerald Ford
- German American
- Germans
- Governor of Michigan
- Grand Traverse Bay
- Great Depression
- Great Lakes
- Greektown Casino
- Guardian Building
- Harry Truman
- Hebrew National
- Henry Ford
- Hires Root Beer
- historical marker
- History of Detroit
- Holland State Park
- Holland, Michigan
- home rule
- Houghton, Michigan
- Huron Mountains
- ice hockey
- Illinois
- Illinois River
- immigrants
- income tax
- Indiana
- initiative
- Interstate 496
- Interstate 94
- Interstate 96
- Iraqi Americans
- Irish American
- iron ore
- Ironwood, Michigan
- Islam
- Islands of Michigan
- Isle Royale
- Italian American
- Jackson, Michigan
- Jacques Marquette
- Japan
- Jay Treaty
- Jennifer Granholm
- Jewish
- Joe Louis Arena
- John Engler
- John McCain
- judicial branch
- Kalamazoo River
- Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Kalkaska Sand
- Kankakee River
- Kellogg Company
- Kellogg's
- Kent County, Ontario
- Keweenaw Peninsula
- Koegel's
- Labor Day
- lake
- Lake Erie
- Lake Huron
- Lake Michigan
- Lake Superior
- lake-effect snow
- Lansing, MI
- Lansing, Michigan
- late 2000s recession
- Late-2000s recession
- Lebanese American
- legislative branch
- lighthouse
- Little Bay de Noc
- Little Caesars
- Little Traverse Bay
- Livonia, Michigan
- Louis XIV of France
- Lutheran Church
- Macedonian American
- Mackinac Bridge
- Mackinac Island
- Manistee River
- Manistee, Michigan
- Manistique, Michigan
- Manitoba
- Marie Thérèse
- Marquette, MI
- Marquette, Michigan
- marsh
- Mascouten
- Mastodon
- Meijer
- Menominee
- Menominee River
- Menominee, Michigan
- Metro Detroit
- MGM Grand Detroit
- Miami (tribe)
- Michigan Legislature
- Michigan Senate
- Michigan Territory
- Michigan wine
- Michigander
- Middle East
- Midland, Michigan
- Mike Ilitch
- Minnesota
- Mio, Michigan
- Mission Point Light
- Mississippi River
- moraine
- Morrice, Michigan
- Morton Salt
- Motor City Casino
- Motown Sound
- Mount Arvon
- Multiracial American
- Muskegon River
- Muskegon, Michigan
- My Michigan
- NASCAR
- Neebish Island
- New France
- NHRA
- Niles, Michigan
- Non-Hispanic Whites
- North Manitou Island
- Northern Michigan
- Novi, Michigan
- Ohio
- Ojibwe
- Olympia Stadium
- Ontario
- Ontario, Canada
- Ontonagon River
- OPEB
- Ottawa (tribe)
- Outline of Michigan
- Painted Turtle
- peninsulas
- Pentwater, Michigan
- Permo-Carboniferous
- Petoskey stone
- Polish American
- Pontiac Silverdome
- Pontiac, Michigan
- Porcupine Mountains
- Port Huron, Michigan
- Potawatomi
- Property tax
- protected areas
- Protestants
- railroad
- ratification
- recall election
- recreational boat
- referendum
- republic
- Richard Nixon
- Rick Snyder
- Romulus, Michigan
- Ronald Reagan
- Saginaw Bay
- Saginaw River
- Saginaw, Michigan
- sales tax
- Sarnia, Ontario
- Scandinavia
- Scandinavian people
- Scottish American
- secession
- SEMCOG Commuter Rail
- separation of powers
- Serena Williams
- Seven Years War
- Shiga Prefecture
- short line railroad
- Sichuan
- Siege of Detroit
- Silurian
- snowmobile
- Soo Locks
- Southeast Michigan
- sports in Detroit
- St. Clair River
- St. Clair Tunnel
- St. Ignace, Michigan
- St. Joseph, Michigan
- St. Lawrence River
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- state forest
- state forests
- State fossil
- State nickname
- state park
- State song
- steamship
- Steelcase
- Straits of Mackinac
- suburbs
- Swedish American
- synagogue
- Tahquamenon River
- The Henry Ford
- the Thumb
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Thomas E. Dewey
- Thornapple Valley
- Toledo War
- Tom Monaghan
- tornado
- Tornado Alley
- trolls
- Troy, Michigan
- Tulip Time
- Tulip Time Festival
- U.S. state
- Ubly, Michigan
- United Auto Workers
- United States
- United States Senate
- Upper Peninsula
- USS Michigan
- UTC
- Vanderbilt, Michigan
- Vernors
- voyageurs
- Walpole Island
- War of 1812
- Warren, Michigan
- Wendell Willkie
- West Michigan
- Western Michigan
- White American
- white-tailed deer
- Whitefish Bay
- William Howard Taft
- Windsor, Ontario
- Wisconsin
- Wisconsin River
- Wolverine
- World War II
- WWJ (AM)
- Wyandot people
- Yankees
- Yemeni American
- Yooper dialect
- Étienne Brûlé
@Mic Filmography
MIC
Releases by album:
Album releases
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:45
- Published: 08 Mar 2009
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: RealHipHop1993
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:26
- Published: 19 Jun 2011
- Uploaded: 28 Nov 2011
- Author: TheJerkingMusicDaily
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:36
- Published: 13 Oct 2008
- Uploaded: 27 Nov 2011
- Author: theInfamous3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:44
- Published: 24 Nov 2009
- Uploaded: 28 Nov 2011
- Author: KOCHRECORDS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Published: 02 Jan 2007
- Uploaded: 22 Oct 2011
- Author: videotudam
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:34
- Published: 28 Nov 2007
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: xoxnxexfilms
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Published: 26 Feb 2010
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: Hadoukentheband
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:38
- Published: 20 Oct 2010
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: mastamicbeatbox
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:31
- Published: 11 Jul 2008
- Uploaded: 28 Nov 2011
- Author: slammajamma64
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:46
- Published: 04 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: IOccupyFor
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:19
- Published: 20 May 2008
- Uploaded: 28 Nov 2011
- Author: deconmedia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:25
- Published: 16 Jul 2009
- Uploaded: 27 Nov 2011
- Author: SkaterTreB2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:34
- Published: 17 Sep 2007
- Uploaded: 28 Nov 2011
- Author: DipsetByrdGameBro
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:20
- Published: 16 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: BmoreOccupiers
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:07
- Published: 20 Feb 2008
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: esesanto666
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:11
- Published: 16 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: iandangerest
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:24
- Published: 22 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: andyroweiii
size: 4.2Kb
size: 4.3Kb
size: 5.8Kb
- 2010 Census
- 45th parallel north
- 50 State Quarters
- African American
- Algonac, Michigan
- Algonquian peoples
- Alpena, Michigan
- Ambassador Bridge
- American Civil War
- American football
- American Revolution
- American Robin
- Americans
- Amtrak
- Amway
- Anishinaabe language
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Apple
- Arab American
- architect
- Arkansas
- arpent
- Asian American
- Ballpark Franks
- Barack Obama
- baseball
- basketball
- Battle of Lake Erie
- Battle of the Thames
- Bay City, Michigan
- Belgian American
- Blue Water Bridge
- Boeing 747
- Brian Calley
- British American
- Brook trout
- Cadillac Place
- Cadillac, Michigan
- Caesars Windsor
- Canada
- Carl Levin
- Celsius
- center of population
- Central Michigan
- Chapter 11
- Charter township
- Cheboygan River
- Chicago, Illinois
- Chlorastrolite
- Christmas trees
- Christopher Wren
- Civil township
- Class I railroad
- CMS Energy
- Cobo Arena
- Comerica Park
- commuter rail
- Copper Country
- coral
- Coureur des bois
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name | Michigan |
---|---|
fullname | State of Michigan |
flag | Flag_of_Michigan.svg |
flaglink | Flag |
seal | Seal of Michigan.svg |
map | Map_of_USA_MI.svg |
nickname | The Great Lakes State, The Wolverine State |
motto | Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you) |
former | Michigan Territory |
capital | Lansing |
demonym | Michigander Michiganian |
largestcity | Detroit |
largestmetro | Metro Detroit |
governor | Rick Snyder (R) |
lieutenant governor | Brian Calley (R) |
legislature | Michigan Legislature |
upperhouse | Senate |
lowerhouse | House of Representatives |
senators | |
representative | 9 Republicans6 Democrats |
postalabbreviation | MI |
tradabbreviation | Mich. |
officiallang | None (English, de-facto) |
arearank | 11th |
totalareaus | 96,716 |
totalarea | 250,493 |
pcwater | 41.5 |
poprank | 8th |
2010pop | 9,883,640 (2010) |
densityrank | 19th |
2010densityus | 102.2 |
2010density | 39.46 |
medianhouseholdincome | $44,627 |
incomerank | 21st |
admittanceorder | 26th |
admittancedate | January 26, 1837 |
timezone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
tz1where | most of state |
timezone2 | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
tz2where | 4 U.P. counties |
latitude | 41° 41' N to 48° 18' N |
longitude | 82° 7' W to 90° 25' W |
widthus | 386 |
width | 621 |
lengthus | 456 |
length | 734 |
highestpoint | Mount Arvon | |
highestelevus | 1,979 |
highestelev | 603 |
meanelevus | 902 |
meanelev | 275 |
lowestpoint | Lake Erie |
lowestelevus | 571 |
lowestelev | 174 |
isocode | US-MI |
website | www.michigan.gov }} |
Michigan is the eighth most populous state in the United States, with the 2010 census placing its population at 9,883,640 residents. It has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair. Michigan is one of the leading U.S. states for recreational boating. The state has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. A person in the state is never more than six miles (10 km) from a natural water source or more than from a Great Lakes shoreline. It is the largest state by total area east of the Mississippi River.
Michigan is the only state to consist entirely of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is often noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula (often referred to as "The U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km)-wide channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is economically important for tourism and natural resources.
History
Michigan was home to Native American cultures before colonization by Europeans. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous and influential tribes were Algonquian peoples, specifically, the Ottawa, the Anishnabe (called Chippewa in French, after their language Ojibwe), and the Potawatomi. The Anishnabe, whose numbers are estimated to have been between 25,000 and 35,000, were the most populous.The Anishnabe were well-established in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, and also inhabited northern Ontario, northern Wisconsin, southern Manitoba, and northern and north-central Minnesota. The Ottawa lived primarily south of the Straits of Mackinac in northern and western Michigan, while the Potawatomi were primarily in the southwest. The three nations co-existed peacefully as part of a loose confederation called the Council of Three Fires. Other tribes in Michigan, in the south and east, were the Mascouten, the Menominee, the Miami, and the Wyandot, who are better known by their French name, Huron.
17th century
thumb|right|Père Marquette and the Indians (1869), Wilhelm LamprechtFrench voyageurs and coureurs des bois explored and settled in Michigan in the 17th century. The first Europeans to reach what later became Michigan were those of Étienne Brûlé's expedition in 1622. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1668 on the site where Père Jacques Marquette established Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan as a base for Catholic missions. Missionaries in 1671–75 founded outlying stations at Saint Ignace and Marquette. Jesuit missionaries were well received by the Indian populations in the area, with relatively few difficulties or hostilities. In 1679, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph.
18th century
thumb|Approximate area of Michigan highlighted in Guillaume de L'Isle's 1718 map.In 1701, French explorer and army officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or "Fort Pontchartrain on-the-Strait" on the strait, known as the Detroit River, between lakes Saint Clair and Erie. Cadillac had convinced King Louis XIV's chief minister, Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain, that a permanent community there would strengthen French control over the upper Great Lakes and discourage British aspirations.The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a fort enclosing one arpent (about , the equivalent of just under per side) and named it Fort Pontchartrain. Cadillac's wife, Marie Thérèse Guyon, soon moved to Detroit, becoming one of the first European women to settle in the Michigan wilderness. The town quickly became a major fur-trading and shipping post. The Église de Saint-Anne (Church of Saint Ann) was founded the same year. While the original building does not survive, the congregation of that name continues to be active today. Cadillac later departed to serve as the French governor of Louisiana from 1710 to 1716.
At the same time, the French strengthened Fort Michilimackinac at the Straits of Mackinac to better control their lucrative fur-trading empire. By the mid-18th century, the French also occupied forts at present-day Niles and Sault Ste. Marie, though most of the rest of the region remained unsettled by Europeans.
From 1660 to the end of French rule, Michigan was part of the Royal Province of New France. In 1759, following the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Québec City fell to British forces. This marked Britain's victory in the Seven Years War. Under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Michigan and the rest of New France east of the Mississippi River passed to Great Britain.
During the American Revolutionary War, Detroit was an important British supply center. Most of the inhabitants were French-Canadians or Native Americans, many of whom had been allied with the French. Because of imprecise cartography and unclear language defining the boundaries in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the British retained control of Detroit and Michigan after the American Revolution. When Quebec split into Lower and Upper Canada in 1790, Michigan was part of Kent County, Upper Canada. It held its first democratic elections in August 1792 to send delegates to the new provincial parliament at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake).
Under terms negotiated in the 1794 Jay Treaty, Britain withdrew from Detroit and Michilimackinac in 1796. Questions remained over the boundary for many years, and the United States did not have uncontested control of the Upper Peninsula and Drummond Island until 1818 and 1847, respectively.
19th century
During the War of 1812, Michigan Territory (effectively consisting of Detroit and the surrounding area) was surrendered after a nearly bloodless siege in 1812. An attempt to retake Detroit resulted in a severe American defeat in the The River Raisin Massacre. This battle is still the bloodiest ever fought in the state and had the highest number of American casualties of any battle in the war. Ultimately, Michigan was recaptured by Americans in 1813 after the Battle of Lake Erie. An invasion of Canada which culminated in the Battle of the Thames was then launched from Michigan. The more northern areas were held by the British until the peace treaty restored the old boundaries. A number of forts, including Fort Wayne were built in Michigan during the 19th century out of fears of renewed fighting with Britain. The population grew slowly until the opening in 1825 of the Erie Canal connecting the Great Lakes and the Hudson River and New York City. The new route brought a large influx of settlers, who became farmers and merchants and shipped out grain, lumber, and iron ore. By the 1830s, Michigan had 80,000 residents, more than enough to apply and qualify for statehood. In October 1835 the people approved the Constitution of 1835, thereby forming a state government, although Congressional recognition was delayed pending resolution of a boundary dispute with Ohio known as the Toledo War. Congress awarded the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio. Michigan received the western part of the Upper Peninsula as a concession and formally entered the Union on January 26, 1837. The Upper Peninsula proved to be a rich source of lumber, iron, and copper. Michigan led the nation in lumber production from the 1850s to the 1880s. Railroads became a major engine of growth from the 1850s onward, with Detroit the chief hub.The first statewide meeting of the Republican Party took place July 6, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan, where the party adopted its platform. The state was heavily Republican until the 1930s. Michigan made a significant contribution to the Union in the American Civil War and sent more than forty regiments of volunteers to the Federal armies.
Modernizers and boosters—especially Yankees set up systems for public education, including founding the University of Michigan (1817; moved to Ann Arbor in 1837), for a classical academic education; and Ypsilanti Normal College, (1849) now Eastern Michigan University, for the training of teachers. Michigan State University (1855) in East Lansing was founded as the pioneer land-grant college, a model for those authorized under the Morrill Act (1862). In 1899, as Michigan State Normal College, the former Ypsilanti was the first normal college in the nation to offer a four-year curriculum. Many private colleges were founded as well, and the smaller cities formed high schools late in the century.
20th and 21st centuries
Michigan's economy underwent a transformation at the turn of the 20th century. The birth of the automotive industry, with Henry Ford's first plant in Highland Park, marked the beginning of a new era in transportation. Like the steamship and railroad, it was a far-reaching development. More than the forms of public transportation, the automobile transformed private life. It became the major industry of Detroit and Michigan, and permanently altered the socio-economic life of the United States and much of the world.With the growth, the auto industry created jobs in Detroit that attracted immigrants from Europe and migrants from across the U.S., including those from the South. By 1920, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the U.S. Residential housing was in short supply, and it took years for the market to catch up with the population boom. By the 1930s, so many immigrants had arrived that more than 30 languages were spoken in the public schools, and ethnic communities celebrated in annual heritage festivals. Over the years immigrants and migrants contributed greatly to Detroit's diverse urban culture, including popular music trends, such as the influential Motown Sound of the 1960s led by a variety of individual singers and groups.
Grand Rapids, the second-largest city in Michigan, is also an important center of manufacturing. Since 1838, the city has also been noted for its furniture industry and is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies. Grand Rapids is home to a number of major companies including Steelcase, Amway, and Meijer. Grand Rapids is also an important center for GE Aviation Systems.
Michigan held its first United States presidential primary election in 1910. With its rapid growth in industry, it was an important center of union industry-wide organizing, such as the rise of the United Auto Workers.
In 1920 WWJ (AM) in Detroit became the first radio station in the United States to regularly broadcast commercial programs. Throughout that decade, some of the country's largest and most ornate skyscrapers were built in the city. Particularly noteworthy are the Fisher Building, Cadillac Place, and the Guardian Building, each of which is a National Historic Landmark (NHL).
Detroit continued to expand through the 1950s, at one point doubling its population in a decade. After World War II, housing was developed in suburban areas outside city cores; newly constructed U.S. Interstate Highways allowed commuters to navigate the region more easily. Modern advances in the auto industry have resulted in increased automation, high tech industry, and increased suburban growth since 1960.
Michigan is the leading auto-producing state in the U.S., with the industry primarily located throughout the Midwestern United States, Ontario, Canada, and the Southern United States. With almost ten million residents, Michigan is a large and influential state, ranking eighth in population among the fifty states. Detroit is the centrally located metropolitan area of the Great Lakes Megalopolis and the second largest metropolitan area in the U.S. linking the Great Lakes system.
The Metro Detroit area in Southeast Michigan is the largest metropolitan area in the state (roughly 50% of the population resides there) and the eleventh largest in the USA. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area in Western Michigan is the fastest-growing metro area in the state, with over 1.3 million residents as of 2006. Metro Detroit receives more than 15 million visitors each year. Michigan has many popular tourist destinations which include areas such as Traverse City on the Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan. Tourists spend about $17 billion annually in Michigan supporting 193,000 jobs.
Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall Research & development (R&D;) expenditures in the U.S. The state's leading research institutions include the University of Michigan, Michigan State University,and Wayne State University which are important partners in the state's economy and the state's University Research Corridor. Michigan's public universities attract more than $1.5 B in research and development grants each year. Agriculture also serves a significant role making the state a leading grower of fruit in the U.S., including blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and peaches.
Government
State government
Michigan is governed as a republic, with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the one court of justice. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification. Lansing is the state capital and is home to all three branches of state government.
The Governor of Michigan and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. The current Governor is Rick Snyder. Michigan has two official Governor's Residences; one is in Lansing, and the other is at Mackinac Island.
The Michigan Legislature consists of a 38-member Senate and 110-member House of Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms and Representatives two. The Michigan State Capitol was dedicated in 1879 and has hosted the state's executive and legislative branches ever since.
Law
The Michigan Court System consists of two courts with primary jurisdiction (the Circuit Courts and the District Courts), one intermediate level appellate court (the Michigan Court of Appeals), and the Michigan Supreme Court. There are several administrative courts and specialized courts. The Michigan Constitution provides for voter initiative and referendum (Article II, § 9, defined as "the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called the referendum. The power of initiative extends only to laws which the legislature may enact under this constitution").
In 1846 Michigan became the first state in the Union, as well as the first English-speaking government in the world, to abolish the death penalty. Historian David Chardavoyne has suggested that the movement to abolish capital punishment in Michigan grew as a result of enmity toward the state's neighbor, Canada. Under British rule, it made public executions a regular practice.
Politics
Voters in the state elect candidates from both major parties. Economic issues are important in Michigan elections. The three-term Republican Governor John Engler (1991–2003) preceded the former two-term Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm (2003–2011). The state has elected successive Republican attorneys general twice since 2003. The Republican Party has won a majority in both the House and Senate of the current Michigan Legislature (2011–present). Michigan supported the election of Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The current Governor Rick Snyder (2011–present) is a Republican.
+ Presidential elections results | ||
!Year | Republican Party (United States)>Republicans | Democratic Party (United States)>Democrats |
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However, the state has supported Democrats in the last five presidential election cycles. In 2008, Barack Obama carried the state over John McCain, winning Michigan's seventeen electoral votes with 57% of the vote. Democrats have won each of the last three, nine of the last ten, and fifteen of the last eighteen U.S. Senate elections in Michigan with confidence on national economic issues posing a challenge. Republican strength is greatest in the western, northern, and rural parts of the state, especially in the Grand Rapids area. Republicans also do well in suburban Detroit, which tends to be an important factor in deciding statewide elections. Democrats are strongest in the east, especially in the cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Saginaw.
Historically, the first formal meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Michigan on July 6, 1854 and the party thereafter dominated Michigan until the Great Depression. In the 1912 election, Michigan was one of the six states to support progressive Republican and third-party candidate Theodore Roosevelt for President after he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft.
Michigan remained fairly reliably Republican at the presidential level for much of the 20th century. It was part of Greater New England, the northern tier of states settled chiefly by migrants from New England who carried their culture with them. The state was one of only a handful to back Wendell Willkie over Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, and supported Thomas E. Dewey in his losing bid against Harry Truman in 1948. Michigan went to the Democrats in presidential elections during the 1960s, and voted for Republican Richard Nixon in 1972.
Michigan was the home of Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States. He was born in Nebraska and moved as an infant to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up there. The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located in Grand Rapids, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is located on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Administrative divisions
State government is decentralized among three tiers — statewide, county and township. Counties are administrative divisions of the state, and townships are administrative divisions of a county. Both of them exercise state government authority, localized to meet the particular needs of their jurisdictions, as provided by state law. There are 83 counties in Michigan.
Cities, state universities, and villages are vested with home rule powers of varying degrees. Home rule cities can generally do anything that is not prohibited by law. The fifteen state universities have broad power and can do anything within the parameters of their status as educational institutions that is not prohibited by the state constitution. Villages, by contrast, have limited home rule and are not completely autonomous from the county and township in which they are located.
There are two types of township in Michigan: general law township and charter. Charter township status was created by the Legislature in 1947 and grants additional powers and stream-lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city. As of April 2001, there were 127 charter townships in Michigan. In general, charter townships have many of the same powers as a city but without the same level of obligations. For example, a charter township can have its own fire department, water and sewer department, police department, and so on—just like a city—but it is not required to have those things, whereas cities must provide those services. Charter townships can opt to use county-wide services instead, such as deputies from the county sheriff's office instead of a home-based force of ordinance officers.
Geography
Michigan consists of two peninsulas that lie between 82°30' to about 90°30' west longitude, and are separated by the Straits of Mackinac. The 45th parallel north runs through the state—marked by highway signs and the Polar-Equator Trail—along a line including Mission Point Light near Traverse City, the towns of Gaylord and Alpena in the Lower Peninsula and Menominee in the Upper Peninsula. With the exception of two small areas that are drained by the Mississippi River by way of the Wisconsin River in the Upper Peninsula and by way of the Kankakee-Illinois River in the Lower Peninsula, Michigan is drained by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed and is the only state with the majority of its land thus drained. The Great Lakes that border Michigan from east to west are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. It has more lighthouses than any other state. The state is bounded on the south by the states of Ohio and Indiana, sharing land and water boundaries with both. Michigan's western boundaries are almost entirely water boundaries, from south to north, with Illinois and Wisconsin in Lake Michigan; then a land boundary with Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, that is principally demarcated by the Menominee and Montreal Rivers; then water boundaries again, in Lake Superior, with Wisconsin and Minnesota to the west, capped around by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and east.The heavily forested Upper Peninsula is relatively mountainous in the west. The Porcupine Mountains, which are part of one of the oldest mountain chains in the world, rise to an altitude of almost 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level and form the watershed between the streams flowing into Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. The surface on either side of this range is rugged. The state's highest point, in the Huron Mountains northwest of Marquette, is Mount Arvon at . The peninsula is as large as Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island combined but has fewer than 330,000 inhabitants. They are sometimes called "Yoopers" (from "U.P.'ers"), and their speech (the "Yooper dialect") has been heavily influenced by the numerous Scandinavian and Canadian immigrants who settled the area during the lumbering and mining boom of the late 19th century.
The Lower Peninsula, shaped like a mitten, is long from north to south and from east to west and occupies nearly two-thirds of the state's land area. The surface of the peninsula is generally level, broken by conical hills and glacial moraines usually not more than a few hundred feet tall. It is divided by a low water divide running north and south. The larger portion of the state is on the west of this and gradually slopes toward Lake Michigan. The highest point in the Lower Peninsula is either Briar Hill at , or one of several points nearby in the vicinity of Cadillac. The lowest point is the surface of Lake Erie at .
The geographic orientation of Michigan's peninsulas makes for a long distance between the ends of the state. Ironwood, in the far western Upper Peninsula, lies 630 highway miles (1,015 km) from Lambertville in the Lower Peninsula's southeastern corner. The geographic isolation of the Upper Peninsula from Michigan's political and population centers makes the U.P. culturally and economically distinct. Occasionally U.P. residents have called for secession from Michigan and establishment as a new state to be called "Superior".
A feature of Michigan that gives it the distinct shape of a mitten is the Thumb. This peninsula projects out into Lake Huron and the Saginaw Bay. The geography of the Thumb is mainly flat with a few rolling hills. Other peninsulas of Michigan include the Keweenaw Peninsula, making up the Copper Country region of the state. The Leelanau Peninsula lies in the Northern Lower Michigan region. See Also Michigan Regions
thumb|left|Little Sable Point Light south of Pentwater, Michigan.Numerous lakes and marshes mark both peninsulas, and the coast is much indented. Keweenaw Bay, Whitefish Bay, and the Big and Little Bays De Noc are the principal indentations on the Upper Peninsula. The Grand and Little Traverse, Thunder, and Saginaw bays indent the Lower Peninsula. Michigan has the second longest shoreline of any state—, including of island shoreline.
The state has numerous large islands, the principal ones being the North Manitou and South Manitou, Beaver, and Fox groups in Lake Michigan; Isle Royale and Grande Isle in Lake Superior; Marquette, Bois Blanc, and Mackinac islands in Lake Huron; and Neebish, Sugar, and Drummond islands in St. Mary's River. Michigan has about 150 lighthouses, the most of any U.S. state. The first lighthouses in Michigan were built between 1818 and 1822. They were built to project light at night and to serve as a landmark during the day to safely guide the passenger ships and freighters traveling the Great Lakes. See Lighthouses in the United States.
The state's rivers are generally small, short and shallow, and few are navigable. The principal ones include the Detroit River, St. Marys River, and St. Clair River which connect the Great Lakes; the Au Sable, Cheboygan, and Saginaw, which flow into Lake Huron; the Ontonagon, and Tahquamenon, which flow into Lake Superior; and the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee, and Escanaba, which flow into Lake Michigan. The state has 11,037 inland lakes (totaling of inland water) in addition to of Great Lakes waters. No point in Michigan is more than six miles (10 km) from an inland lake or more than from one of the Great Lakes.
The state is home to a number of areas maintained by the National Park Service including: Isle Royale National Park, located in Lake Superior, about southeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Other national protected areas in the state include: Keweenaw National Historical Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Huron National Forest, Manistee National Forest, Hiawatha National Forest, Ottawa National Forest and Father Marquette National Memorial. The largest section of the North Country National Scenic Trail passes through Michigan.
With 78 state parks, 19 state recreation areas, and 6 state forests, Michigan has the largest state park and state forest system of any state. These parks and forests include Holland State Park, Mackinac Island State Park, Au Sable State Forest, and Mackinaw State Forest.
Adjacent states & provinces
Climate
thumb|Michigan USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.Michigan has a continental climate, although there are two distinct regions. The southern and central parts of the Lower Peninsula (south of Saginaw Bay and from the Grand Rapids area southward) have a warmer climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa) with hot summers and cold winters. The northern part of Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula has a more severe climate (Koppen Dfb), with warm, but shorter summers and longer, cold to very cold winters. Some parts of the state average high temperatures below freezing from December through February, and into early March in the far northern parts. During the winter through the middle of February the state is frequently subjected to heavy lake-effect snow. The state averages from of precipitation annually, however some areas in the northern lower peninsula and the upper peninsula average almost 160" of snowfall per year. Michigan's highest recorded temperature is at Mio on July 13, 1936 and the coldest recorded temperature is at Vanderbilt on February 9, 1934.The entire state averages 30 days of thunderstorm activity per year. These can be severe, especially in the southern part of the state. The state averages 17 tornadoes per year, which are more common in the extreme southern portion of the state. Portions of the southern border have been nearly as vulnerable historically as parts of Tornado Alley. For this reason, many communities in the very southern portions of the state are equipped with tornado sirens to warn residents of approaching tornadoes. Farther north, in the Upper Peninsula, tornadoes are rare.
colspan="13" style="text-align: center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Other Michigan Cities in °F(°C) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||
Flint | 29/13 | (−2/−11) | 32/15 | (0/−9) | 43/24 | (6/−4) | 56/35 | (13/2) | 69/45 | (21/7) | 78/55 | (26/13) | 82/59 | (28/15) | 80/57 | (27/14) | 72/49 | (22/9) | 60/39 | (16/4) | 46/30 | (8/−1) | 34/19 | (1/−7) |
Grand Rapids | 29/16 | (−2/−9) | 33/17 | (1/−8) | 43/26 | (6/−3) | 57/36 | (14/2) | 70/47 | (21/8) | 78/56 | (26/13) | 82/60 | (28/16) | 80/59 | (27/15) | 72/51 | (22/11) | 60/40 | (11/4) | 46/31 | (8/−1) | 34/21 | (1/−6) |
Muskegon | 30/17 | (−1/−8) | 32/18 | (0/−8) | 42/25 | (6/−4) | 55/35 | (13/2) | 67/45 | (19/7) | 76/54 | (24/12) | 80/60 | (27/16) | 78/59 | (26/15) | 70/51 | (21/11) | 59/41 | (15/5) | 46/32 | (8/0) | 35/23 | (2/−5) |
Sault Ste. Marie | 22/5 | (−6/−15) | 24/7 | (−4/−14) | 34/16 | (1/−9) | 48/29 | (9/−2) | 63/39 | (17/4) | 71/46 | (22/7) | 76/52 | (24/11) | 74/52 | (23/11) | 65/45 | (18/7) | 53/36 | (12/2) | 39/26 | (12/−3) | 27/13 | (−3/−11) |
Geology
The geological formation of the state is greatly varied. Primary boulders are found over the entire surface of the Upper Peninsula (being principally of primitive origin), while Secondary deposits cover the entire Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula exhibits Lower Silurian sandstones, limestones, copper and iron bearing rocks, corresponding to the Huronian system of Canada. The central portion of the Lower Peninsula contains coal measures and rocks of the Permo-Carboniferous period. Devonian and sub-Carboniferous deposits are scattered over the entire state.
Demographics
As of 2010, Michigan had a population of 9,883,640, at – 0.6% since the year 2000, retaining its rank as the eighth most populous state in the nation.
The center of population of Michigan is located in Shiawassee County, in the southeastern corner of the civil township of Bennington, which is located northwest of the village of Morrice.
As of the 2009 American Community Survey for the U.S. Census, the state had a foreign-born population of 614,111, or 6.2% of the total. In recent years, the foreign-born population in the state has grown. Michigan has the largest Dutch, Finnish, and Macedonian populations in the United States.
The 2010 Census reported:
The ten largest reported ancestries in Michigan are: German (22.9%) Irish (12.0%) English (10.6%) Polish (9.1%) French or French Canadian (7.0%) Dutch (5.2%) Italian (4.9%) American (4.8%) Scottish (2.5%) Swedish (1.7%)
The large majority of Michigan's population is Caucasian. Americans of European descent live throughout Michigan and most of Metro Detroit. Large European American groups include those of German, Irish, French, Belgian and British ancestry. People of Scandinavian descent, especially those of Finnish ancestry, have a notable presence in the Upper Peninsula. Western Michigan is known for the Dutch heritage of many residents (the highest concentration of any state), especially in metropolitan Grand Rapids.
About 300,000 people trace their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn has a sizeable Arab community, with many Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac, and Lebanese who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s along with more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. African Americans, who came to Detroit and other northern cities in the Great Migration of the early 20th century, form a majority of the population of the city of Detroit and of other cities, including Flint and Benton Harbor.
An individual from Michigan is called a "Michigander" or "Michiganian". Also at times, but rarely, a "Michiganite". Residents of the Upper Peninsula are sometimes referred to as "Yoopers" (a phonetic pronunciation of "U.P.ers"), and Upper Peninsula residents sometimes refer to those from the lower as "trolls" (they live below the bridge).
Religion
The Roman Catholic Church was the only organized religion in Michigan until the 19th century, reflecting the territory's French colonial roots. Detroit's St. Anne's parish, established in 1701, is the second-oldest Catholic parish in the country. French-Canadian Catholics were reduced to a small minority by the influx of Protestants from the United States in the early 19th century. By the mid-19th century, there was a wave of immigration of Catholics from Ireland and, later, from eastern and southern Europe.Change was rapid in the 19th century. The Lutheran Church was introduced by German and Scandinavian immigrants; Lutheranism is the second largest religious denomination in the state. The first Jewish synagogue in the state was Temple Beth El, founded by twelve German Jewish families in Detroit in 1850. Islam was introduced by immigrants from the Near East during the 20th century.
The largest denomination by number of adherents, according to a survey in the year 2000, was the Roman Catholic Church with 2,019,926 parishioners. The largest Protestant denominations were the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod with 244,231 adherents; followed by the United Methodist Church with 222,269; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 160,836 adherents. In the same survey, Jewish adherents in the state of Michigan were estimated at 110,000, and Muslims at 80,515.
Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated Michigan's 2009 gross state product at $368 B. In May 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 10.3%.
Some of the major industries/products/services include automobiles, cereal products, pizza, information technology, aerospace, military equipment, copper, iron, and furniture. Michigan is the third leading grower of Christmas trees with of land dedicated to Christmas tree farming. The beverage Vernors was invented in Michigan in 1866, sharing the title of oldest soft drink with Hires Root Beer. Faygo was founded in Detroit on November 4, 1907. Two of the top four pizza chains were founded in Michigan and are headquartered there: Domino's Pizza by Tom Monaghan and Little Caesars Pizza by Mike Ilitch.
Since 2009, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have managed a significant reorganization of their benefit funds structure after a volatile stock market which followed the September 11, 2001 attacks and early 2000s recession impacted their respective U.S. pension and benefit funds (OPEB). General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler reached agreements with the United Auto Workers Union to transfer the liabilities for their respective health care and benefit funds to a 501(c)(9) Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA). Manufacturing in the state grew 6.6% from 2001 to 2006, but the high speculative price of oil became a factor for the U.S. auto industry during the economic crisis of 2008 impacting industry revenues. In 2009, GM and Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 restructurings with financing provided in part by the U.S. and Canandian governments. GM began its initial public offering (IPO) of stock in 2010. For 2010, the Big Three domestic automakers have reported significant profits indicating the beginning of rebound.
Michigan ranks fourth in the U.S. in high tech employment with 568,000 high tech workers, which includes 70,000 in the automotive industry. Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall Research & development (R&D;) expenditures in the United States. Its research and development, which includes automotive, comprises a higher percentage of the state's overall gross domestic product than for any other U.S. state. The state is an important source of engineering job opportunities. The domestic auto industry accounts directly and indirectly for one of every ten jobs in the U.S.Outdated
Michigan was second in the U.S. in 2004 for new corporate facilities and expansions. From 1997 to 2004, Michigan was the only state to top the 10,000 mark for the number of major new developments; however, the effects of the late 2000s recession have slowed the state's economy. In 2008, Michigan placed third in a site selection survey among the states for luring new business which measured capital investment and new job creation per one million population. In August 2009, Michigan and Detroit's auto industry received $1.36 B in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for the manufacture of electric vehicle technologies which is expected to generate 6,800 immediate jobs and employ 40,000 in the state by 2020. From 2007 to 2009, Michigan ranked 3rd in the U.S. for new corporate facilities and expansions.
As leading research institutions, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University,and Wayne State University are important partners in the state's economy and the state's University Research Corridor. Michigan's public universities attract more than $1.5 B in research and development grants each year. The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory is located at Michigan State University. Michigan's workforce is well-educated and highly skilled, making it attractive to companies. It has the third highest number of engineering graduates nationally.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the nation's most recently expanded and modernized airports with six major runways, and large aircraft maintenance facilities capable of servicing and repairing a Boeing 747 and is a major hub for Delta Air Lines. Michigan's schools and colleges rank among the nation's best. The state has maintained its early commitment to public education. The state's infrastructure gives it a competitive edge; Michigan has 38 deep water ports. In 2007, Bank of America announced that it would commit $25 billion to community development in Michigan following its acquisition of LaSalle Bank in Troy.
Michigan led the nation in job creation improvement in 2010.
Taxation
Michigan's personal income tax is set to a flat rate of 4.35%. Some cities impose additional income taxes. Michigan's state sales tax is 6%. Property taxes are assessed on the local level, but every property owner's local assessment contributes six mills (six dollars per thousand dollars of property value) to the statutory State Education Tax. In 2007, Michigan repealed its Single Business Tax (SBT) and replaced it with a Michigan Business Tax (MBT) in order to stimulate job growth by reducing taxes for seventy percent of the businesses in the state. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, recent growth in Michigan is 0.1%.
Agriculture
A wide variety of commodity crops, fruits, and vegetables are grown in Michigan, making it second only to California among U.S. states in the diversity of its agriculture. The state has 55,000 farms utilizing of land which sold $6.6 billion worth of products in 2008. The most valuable agricultural product is milk. Leading crops include corn, soybeans, flowers, wheat, sugar beets and potatoes. Livestock in the state included 1 million cattle, 1 million hogs, 78,000 sheep and over 3 million chickens. Livestock products accounted for 38% of the value of agricultural products while crops accounted for the majority.Michigan is a leading grower of fruit in the U.S., including blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes, and peaches. Plums, pears, and strawberries are also grown. These fruits are mainly grown in West Michigan due to the moderating effect of Lake Michigan on the climate. There is also significant fruit production, especially cherries, but also grapes, apples, and other fruits, in Northwest Michigan along Lake Michigan. Michigan produces wines, beers and a multitude of processed food products. Kellogg's cereal is based out of Battle Creek, Michigan and processes many locally grown foods. Thornapple Valley, Ballpark Franks, Koegel's, and Hebrew National sausage companies are all based in Michigan.
Michigan is home to very fertile land in the Flint/Tri-Cities and "Thumb" areas. Products grown there include corn, sugar beets, navy beans, and soy beans. Sugar beet harvesting usually begins the first of October. It takes the sugar factories about five months to process the 3.7 million tons of sugarbeets into 970 million pounds of pure, white sugar. Michigan's largest sugar refiner, Michigan Sugar Company is the largest east of the Mississippi River and the fourth largest in the nation. Michigan Sugar brand names are Pioneer Sugar and the newly incorporated Big Chief Sugar. Potatoes are grown in Northern Michigan, and corn is dominant in Central Michigan. Alfalfa, cucumbers, and asparagus are also grown. Michigan State University is dedicated to the study of agriculture.
Tourism
Michigan's tourists spend $17.2 billion per year in the state, supporting 193,000 tourism jobs. Michigan's tourism website ranks among the busiest in the nation. Destinations draw vacationers, hunters, and nature enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada. Michigan is fifty percent forest land, much of it quite remote. The forests, lakes and thousands of miles of beaches are top attractions. Event tourism draws large numbers to occasions like the Tulip Time Festival and the National Cherry Festival.In 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education mandated that all public schools in the state hold their first day of school after the Labor Day holiday, in accordance with the new Post Labor Day School law. A survey found that 70% of all tourism business comes directly from Michigan residents, and the Michigan Hotel, Motel, & Resort Association claimed that the shorter summer in between school years cut into the annual tourism season in the state.
Tourism in metropolitan Detroit draws visitors to leading attractions, particularly The Henry Ford, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Detroit Zoo, and to sports in Detroit. Other museums include the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, museums in the Cranbrook Educational Community, and the Arab American National Museum. The metro area offers four major casinos, MGM Grand Detroit, Greektown, Motor City, and Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; moreover, Detroit is the largest American city and metropolitan region to offer casino resorts.
Hunting and fishing are significant industries in the state. Charter boats are based in many Great Lakes cities to fish for salmon, trout, walleye and perch. Michigan ranks first in the nation in licensed hunters (over one million) who contribute $2 billion annually to its economy. Over three-quarters of a million hunters participate in white-tailed deer season alone. Many school districts in rural areas of Michigan cancel school on the opening day of firearm deer season, because of attendance concerns.
Michigan's Department of Natural Resources manages the largest dedicated state forest system in the nation. The forest products industry and recreational users contribute $12 billion and 200,000 associated jobs annually to the state's economy. Public hiking and hunting access has also been secured in extensive commercial forests. The state has highest number of golf courses and registered snowmobiles in the nation.
The state has numerous historical markers, which can themselves become the center of a tour. The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
With its position in relation to the Great Lakes and the countless ships that have foundered over the many years in which they have been used as a transport route for people and bulk cargo, Michigan is a world-class scuba diving destination. The Michigan Underwater Preserves are 11 underwater areas where wrecks are protected for the benefit of sport divers.
Transportation
Michigan has nine international crossings with Ontario, Canada:A second international bridge is currently under development between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.
Railroads
Michigan is served by four Class I railroads: the Canadian National Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, and the Norfolk Southern Railway. These are augmented by several dozen short line railroads. The vast majority of rail service in Michigan is devoted to freight, with Amtrak and various scenic railroads the exceptions.Amtrak passenger rail services the state, connecting many southern and western Michigan cities to Chicago, Illinois. There are plans for commuter rail for Detroit and its suburbs (see SEMCOG Commuter Rail).
Roadways
Interstate 75 is the main thoroughfare between Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw extending north to Sault Sainte Marie and providing access to Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. The expressway crosses the Mackinac Bridge between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Branching highways include I-275 and I-375 in Detroit; I-475 in Flint; and I-675 in Saginaw.Interstate 69 enters the state near the Michigan-Ohio-Indiana border, and it extends to Port Huron and provides access to the Blue Water Bridge crossing into Sarnia, Ontario.
Interstate 94 enters the western end of the state at the Indiana border, and it travels east to Detroit and then northeast to Port Huron and ties in with I-69. I-194 branches off from this freeway in Battle Creek. I-94 is the main artery between Chicago, Illinois and Detroit.
Interstate 96 runs east–west between Detroit and Muskegon. I-496 loops through Lansing. I-196 branches off from this freeway at Grand Rapids and connects to I-94 near Benton Harbor. I-696 branches off from this freeway at Novi and connects to I-94 near St Clair Shores.
U.S. Highway 2 enters Michigan at the city of Ironwood and runs east to the town of Crystal Falls, where it turns south and briefly re-enters Wisconsin northwest of Florence. It re-enters Michigan north of Iron Mountain and continues through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the cities of Escanaba, Manistique, and St. Ignace. Along the way, it cuts through the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests and follows the northern shore of Lake Michigan. Its eastern terminus lies at exit 344 of I-75, just north of the Mackinac Bridge. This is generally regarded as the main route through the Upper Peninsula, although some prefer to travel on M-28 as it tends to save time (U.S. 2 hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline for much of its length.)
Airports
The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is Michigan's busiest airport in the western suburb of Romulus, followed by the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.
Important cities and townships
The largest municipalities in Michigan are (according to 2010 Census):
! Rank | ! City | ! Population | ! Image |
style="text-align:left;" | 713,777 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 188,040 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 134,056 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 129,699 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 114,297 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 113,934 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 102,434 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 98,153 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 96,942 | ||
style="text-align:left;" | 96,796 |
Other important cities include:
Half of the wealthiest communities in the state are located in Oakland County, just north of Detroit. Another wealthy community is located just east of the city, in Grosse Pointe. Only three of these cities are located outside of Metro Detroit. The city of Detroit itself, with a per capita income of $14,717, ranks 517th on the list of Michigan locations by per capita income. Benton Harbor is the poorest city in Michigan, with a per capita income of $8,965, while Barton Hills is the richest with a per capita income of $110,683.
Education
Michigan's education system provides services to 1.6 million K-12 students in public schools. More than 124,000 students attend private schools and an uncounted number are homeschooled under certain legal requirements. The public school system has a $14.5 billion budget in 2008–2009. Michigan has a number of public universities spread throughout the state and a numerous private colleges as well. Michigan State University has one of the largest enrollments of any U.S. school. Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University are the three major research institutions in the state.
Professional sports
Michigan's major-league sports teams include: Detroit Tigers baseball team, Detroit Lions football team, Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team, and the Detroit Pistons men's basketball team. All of Michigan's major league teams play in the Metro Detroit area.The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978 and at the Pontiac Silverdome until 1988 when they moved into The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit until 1974, then moved to the Pontiac Silverdome where they played for 27 years between 1975–2002 before moving to Ford Field in Detroit in 2002. The Detroit Tigers played at Tiger Stadium (formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium) from 1912 to 1999. In 2000 they moved to Comerica Park. The Red Wings played at Olympia Stadium before moving to Joe Louis Arena in 1979.
Thirteen-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams was born in Saginaw. The Michigan International Speedway is the site of NASCAR races and Detroit was formerly the site of a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix race. From 1959 to 1961, Detroit Dragway hosted the NHRA's U.S. Nationals. Michigan is home to one of the major canoeing marathons: the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon. The Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race is also a favorite. Professional hockey got its start in Houghton, when the Portage Lakers were formed.
State symbols and nicknames
Michigan is, by tradition, known as "The Wolverine State," and the University of Michigan takes the wolverine as its mascot. The association is well and long established: for example, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the American Civil War and George Armstrong Custer, who led the Michigan Brigade, called them the "Wolverines". The origins of this association are obscure; it may derive from a busy trade in wolverine furs in Sault Ste. Marie in the 18th century or may recall a disparagement intended to compare early settlers in Michigan with the vicious mammal. Wolverines are, however, extremely rare in Michigan. A sighting in February 2004 near Ubly was the first confirmed sighting in Michigan in 200 years. The animal was found dead in 2010. State song: My Michigan (official since 1937, but disputed amongst residents), Michigan, My Michigan (Unofficial State Song, since the civil war)
Sister states
Shiga Prefecture, Japan Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Category:States and territories established in 1837 Category:States of the United States
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