Michigan
It’s National Michigan Day! Unique facts, interesting history about the Great Lakes State.
Happy Michigan Day!
National Michigan Day is celebrated every year on January 18. States are celebrated by the order they entered the union, starting in July, according to National Day Calendar®, which founded the holidays in 2017. Delaware, the first state to join, is celebrated July 13. That’s followed by National Pennsylvania Day on July 20 and eventually National Michigan Day on Jan. 18.
“This initiative is our way of honoring each state in the order they joined the Union, offering a dedicated day to celebrate the unique heritage, achievements, and spirit of each state,” its website says.
Michigan’s actual birthday is Jan. 26, 1837. It is also known as the Mitten State, the Wolverine State or even the Great Lakes State.
Here are some more fun facts, notable days in history and more about Michigan.
Important days in Michigan history*
- 1620: French explorers Étienne Brulé and Grenoble discover Lake Superior.
- 1701: Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac and his lieutenant set up a trading post on the Detroit River — Fort Pontchartrain —which is where Detroit is now located.
- 1792: Michigan holds its first election under the British Parliament’s Constitutional Act.
- 1837: Michigan is admitted to the Union as the 26th state after President Andrew Jackson signs the bill into law.
- 1896: Henry Ford builds his first experimental automobile, the quadricycle, at his home in Detroit.
- 1974: Gerald R. Ford of Grand Rapids becomes the 38th President of the U.S.
- 2002: Jennifer Granholm becomes the first female Governor of Michigan.
* according to NationalToday.com.
All things Michigan
Places to visit in Michigan
Interesting facts about Michigan
According to NationalToday.com, here are some fascinating facts about Michigan:
Michigan haters
- It’s not uncommon for folks to leave Michigan’s treasured top half completely out of maps or labeled as part of Wisconsin (come on!). Here’s seven times the U.P. was left off maps or labeled incorrectly.
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Michigan
Michigan voters react to debate | CNN Politics
![Michigan voters react to debate | CNN Politics](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/panel.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill)
Here’s how a panel of swing state voters thought Biden and Trump performed
CNN’s Laura Coates speaks with a panel of Michigan voters to get their reactions to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s performances during CNN’s presidential debate.
Michigan
Black bear sightings on the rise in mid-Michigan
![Black bear sightings on the rise in mid-Michigan](https://www.wlns.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2024/06/thumbnail_black-bear-1.jpg?w=1280)
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Experts say that the bear population has recently increased in Michigan’s lower peninsula, leading to a similar rise in close encounters—including those here in mid-Michigan.
Last Sunday, on Ruess Rd in Owosso, a road she drives on almost every day, Emalee Harmon saw something she never expected.
“We were absolutely shocked,” said Harmon. “We were just kinda speechless and couldn’t get over the fact that we just saw a bear.”
She was on her way back from getting ice cream with her family when she and her husband noticed a bear. They pulled over and took photos.
“We had never seen a bear in the wild, and we knew that it was not normal to see them this far in the south,” said Harmon.
Just a few days later, another bear was spotted in Bath Township. Ron Jackson posted a photo of the bear on Facebook.
While it is unlikely, seeing a bear in mid-Michigan is not as rare as you might think. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, there are around 12,000 bears in the state: 10,000 in the Upper Peninsula and 2000 in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Black bears are the only bears in Michigan, and because they fear humans, they don’t pose a major safety risk. However, experts say there are things to keep in mind if you do run into one. The DNR created the acronym “SMART” to help people understand what to do in this situation.
- Stand your ground. Do not run or play dead if you encounter a black bear.
- Make loud noises and back away slowly.
- Always provide an escape route for the bear
- Rarely do black bears attack, but if they do- fight back
- Treat bears with respect from a distance. Never intentionally feed a bear.
To learn more about black bears in Michigan, visit michigan.gov.
Michigan
Teen who drowned off Oak Creek in Lake Michigan is identified
![Teen who drowned off Oak Creek in Lake Michigan is identified](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/06/11/PMJS/74058630007-mjs-kohler-andraebeach.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5307,2982,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Mohamad Hassan, a 17-year-old Palestinian American, was found dead last night after drowning in Lake Michigan off of Bender Park in Oak Creek, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
Hassan was swimming with his family at Bender Park Beach when a riptide current swept him and two other teenagers, including his brother, under the water. Hassan’s brother, Abdulrahman, was hospitalized in critical condition but is awake and able to communicate today, according to Othman Atta, director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
A third teen was not injured.
All three teenagers were swimming about 30 yards out from the shore in “somewhat shallow” water, according to the Medical Examiner’s report. The sheriff’s office said the call came in shortly before 8:30 p.m. from the park located at 4503 E. Ryan Road, and the Oak Creek Fire Department said the rescue effort was impacted by “high waves and challenging water conditions.” Hassan was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m.
He is survived by his parents, Musaitif Hassan and Jumanah Hamed; his brothers, Najeh, Abdulrahman and Yusuf; and his three sisters, according to an announcement from the Islamic Society on Thursday. The family is originally from Betein, a city in the occupied West Bank.
The Islamic Society will host a Janazah, a Muslim funeral, today after its 1:15 p.m. prayer service at 4707 S. 13th Street. The funeral will be followed by a burial at Arlington Cemetary, located at 4141 S. 27th Street, and a condolence gathering tonight after evening prayer at 8:30 p.m.
Lake Michigan was under a moderate swim risk last night, according to the National Weather Service. Waves hovered around two feet high in the afternoon and reached three feet during the evening. As of June 19, there have been 10 drownings in Lake Michigan this year, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.
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