Editing Midland, Michigan (section)

==History==
By the late 1820s, Midland was established as a fur trading post of the [[American Fur Company]] supervised by the post at [[Saginaw, Michigan|Saginaw]]. Here agents purchased furs from [[Ojibwe people|Ojibwe]] trappers. The [[Campau family]] of Detroit operated an independent trading post at this location in the late 1820s.<ref>''History of Saginaw County, Michigan'' (Chicago: Charles C. Chapman & Co., 1881) p. 126</ref>

[[Dow Chemical Company]] was founded in Midland in 1897, and its world headquarters are still located there. Through the influence of a Dow Chemical plant opening in [[Handa, Aichi]], Japan, Midland and Handa have become [[sister cities]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.midland-mi.org/government/manager/sistercity.htm |title=Sister City Relationships – Handa, Japan |publisher=City of Midland, Michigan |access-date=September 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204234429/http://www.midland-mi.org/government/manager/sistercity.htm |archive-date=December 4, 2008 }}</ref> [[Dow Corning]] was also headquartered in Midland.

In 1969, the city unilaterally defined a Midland Urban Growth Area (MUGA), a two-mile territory around the city limits, in an attempt to control [[urban sprawl]].<ref name="MUGA">{{cite web|title=Midland Urban Growth Area|url=http://www.midland-mi.org/764/Midland-Urban-Growth-Area-MUGA-Policy|website=midland-mi.org|access-date=April 3, 2017}}</ref> As the county's only capable drinking water supplier, the city would provide water services to communities outside the MUGA such as the nearby village of [[Sanford, Michigan|Sanford]]. The city would not provide water services within the MUGA without [[annexation]] to the city of Midland. This allowed the city to control most of the growth in the county. Since 1991, the policy has since been revised with a series of Urban Cooperation Act Agreements with surrounding townships. Case-by-case redrawings of the MUGA line now allow Midland to sell water to the surrounding townships without annexation.<ref name=MUGA/>

On May 19, 2020, the [[Sanford Lake|Sanford Dam]] and [[Edenville Dam]] both failed, prompting an evacuation of 10,000 Midland residents.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|title=Thousands evacuate area in Michigan after two dams fail and governor warns one city could see 9 feet of water|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/19/us/michigan-dam-collapse/index.html|author1=Rob Frehse |author2=Kristina Sgueglia |author3=Christina Maxouris|website=CNN|date=May 20, 2020 |access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> Governor [[Gretchen Whitmer]] declared a state of emergency, predicting that parts of Midland and Sanford would be covered in nine feet of water within 12–15 hours. She urged residents to seek shelter with family and friends or at emergency shelters. This major "500 year" flooding event occurred just months after the COVID-19 stay at home order went into effect.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governor Whitmer Signs |url=https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2020/03/23/governor-whitmer-signs-stay-home-stay-safe-executive-order |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=www.michigan.gov |language=en}}</ref>