Mecosta County, Michigan

400 Elm St
Big Rapids, MI 49307
Phone: (231) 592-0787
Fax: (231) 592-0193
www.co.mecosta.mi.us

In central MI, northeast of Grand Rapids; established Apr 1, 1840 from Newaygo and Osceola counties. Name Origin: For the Potawatomi chief whose name means 'bear cub.'

Area (sq mi):: 571.10 (land 555.69; water 15.41) Population per square mile: 76.30
Population 2005: 42,391 State rank: 40 Population change: 2000-20005 4.50%; 1990-2000 8.70% Population 2000: 40,553 (White 91.90%; Black or African American 3.60%; Hispanic or Latino 1.30%; Asian 0.90%; Other 2.80%). Foreign born: 1.90%. Median age: 31.90
Income 2000: per capita $16,372; median household $33,849; Population below poverty level: 16.10% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $18,548-$20,049
Unemployment (2004): 7.20% Unemployment change (from 2000): 1.90% Median travel time to work: 24.40 minutes Working outside county of residence: 31.00%

Cities with population over 10,000:

Big Rapids County seat

(10,852)

See other counties in Michigan.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

"My mother's family lived, most of them, nearly two hundred miles to the north and west [of Detroit], in Mecosta County; and about them stretched to the horizon and beyond, the stump country--the cut-over lands that the lumbermen of the 'seventies and 'eighties had left desolate behind them.

Russell Kirk The Wizard of Mecosta: Michigan lays claim to a raft of renowned writers--Ernest Hemingway, Bruce Catton, and Jim Harrison among them--but few have had the immense influence of Russell Kirk. By the time he was in his mid-30s, Kirk had become a towering figure for his written work and influence in Western political thought--all stemming from his experiences in two Michigan towns

Brian Thiede is the Mecosta County, Michigan Prosecuting Attorney.

Marijuana Behind the Wheel

And the community of Mecosta County, Mich., spent 10 years in litigation just to limit the amount of water Nestl could pump; this, as a major drought caused people's wells to run dry, springs to become mudflats and fish to die off.

Hood River should nix Nestl water plant bid

We are investigating whether a northern ecotype (from Lac Vieux Desert in Gogebic County) has a different dormancy period than a southern ecotype (from Lower Evans Lake in Mecosta County).

Botany and plant ecology

Commander--Court Security Bureau, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Supervisor of the Year; Richard Kaledas, CJM, captain, jail administrator, Mecosta County Sheriff's Office, Administrator of the Year; Warren Kenner, Orange County Corrections Department, Volunteer of the Year; Bret King, deputy, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Correctional Officer of the Year; John Richter, senior community corrections officer, Orange County Corrections Department, Civilian Employee of the Year

List of submissions

Nestle's right to local spring water for bottling is being challenged by local citizens in Mecosta County, Michigan.

Water, women and war

However, despite her request that her husband be taken to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, EMS transported him to Mecosta County General Hospital, which was closer.

MI: failure to timely give stroke victim TPA: lack of proof patient had over 50 percent chance

The fact that the Mecosta County, Michigan bottled water plant paid only around $150 in fees for its operations--and received enormous tax benefits--doesn't sound like someone paving equitably for water.

The industry fires back

News article went to press, the 6th Circuit ruled that Kevin Gilday of Mecosta County, Michigan, who suffered from treatable but in fact untreated diabetes, was covered by the ADA.

Still crazy

Gilday worked for Mecosta County, Michigan, as a paramedic from 1978 until he was fired in 1994 for conduct unbecoming a paramedic and a history of rudeness to patients and colleagues.

ADA protects diabetic fired for rude behavior