Midsund

Midsund is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre was the village of Midsund on Otrøya island. Other settlements on the island included Uglvik and Raknes in the north and Nord-Heggdal in the southeast.

The municipality consisted of many islands. The main islands were Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna, as well as the smaller populated islands of Magerøya and Tautra&mdash;both are less than 1 km2. There were also many tiny uninhabited islands and skerries. The islands all sit at the mouth of the great Romsdalsfjord.

At the time if its dissolution in 2020, the 95 km2 municipality is the 384th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Midsund is the 323rd most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,049. The municipality's population density is 21.8 PD/km2 and its population has increased by 7.8% over the last decade.

General information
The municipality of Midsund was established on 1 January 1965 when the old municipality of Sør-Aukra (population: 1,912) was merged with part of Midøya island and the neighboring island of Dryna (population: 334) which were part of the old Vatne Municipality.

On 1 January 2020, the municipality of Midsund (population: 2,049) was merged into the neighboring Molde Municipality, along with the municipality of Nesset (population: 2,946). Together, the new Molde Municipality is significantly larger.

Name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Midsundet (Miðjusund), the strait that flows between the islands of Otrøya and Midøya. The first element is which means "middle" or "centre". The last element is which means "strait" or "sound".

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 15 May 1987. The official blazon is "Azure, two triangles argent the lower reversed" (På blå grunn to sølv trekantar, den nedste vend nedover). This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is two triangles one over the other so that they look like a mirror image. The triangles have a tincture of argent which means they are commonly colored white, but if the arms are made out of metal, then silver is used. The two triangles represent the islands of Otrøya and Midøya in the ocean. These two main islands in the municipality are separated by a small strait, the Midsund. The geographical situation is symbolised in the arms. The arms were designed by Jarle Skuseth. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches
The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within the municipality of Midsund. It was part of the Molde domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

Geography
The islands of Midsund Municipality are separated from the mainland by the 2 km wide Julsundet strait to the east and the 3 km wide Midfjorden to the south. To the north are many smaller islands including Gossa (in Aukra Municipality) and Harøya, Sandøya, and Orta (in Sandøy Municipality). To the west lie the islands of Fjørtofta, Skuløya, and Haramsøya (in Haram Municipality).

The three largest islands of the community lie in a line from ENE to WSW (Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna). The island of Magerøya lies between Midøya and Otrøya and a bridge connects it to the latter. Tautra lies in the Moldefjorden, southeast of Otrøya. Otrøya is the main island of the community, measuring about 20 km from east to west. The southern coasts of Otrøya, Midøya, and Dryna rise from the fjord as sheer 800 m tall cliffs. At Oppstad, the cliff is feared to collapse, which would cause a small tsunami in the Moldefjorden.

On the southern coast of Otrøya the following small villages can be found: (from east to west) Solholmen, Nord-Heggdal, Oppstad, Sør-Heggdal, and Klauset. The north has the following villages: (east to west) Ræstad, Rakvåg, Tangen, Raknes, and Uglvik. On the western side of Otrøya, facing the bay that separates it from Midøya, lies the village of Midsund, the largest settlement in the community. The Midsund Bridge connects it with Midøya. Dryna and Midøya are also connected with a bridge. Ferries run between the islands and the mainland. There is a ferry from Solholmen across the Julsundet to Molde Municipality and from the island of Dryna to the village of Brattvåg (in Haram Municipality). The larger three islands' interior is wilderness, but the rims are used for keeping cattle and small farming.

Government
While it existed, this municipality was responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment, social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a municipal council of directly elected representatives. The mayor was indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality fell under the Romsdal District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Midsund is made up of 17 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The party breakdown for the final municipal council was as follows:

Mayors
The mayors of Midsund:


 * 1965–1969: Knut K. Sjøvik (Sp)
 * 1970–1971: Kåre Straume (Ap)
 * 1972–1983: Kristofer Reiten (Sp)
 * 1984–1989: Harry Edvardsen (H)
 * 1990–1991: Per Håvard Klauset (Sp)
 * 1992–1995: Harry Edvardsen (H)
 * 1995–2003: Ketil Ugelvik (LL)
 * 2003–2011: Helge Orten (H)
 * 2011–2015: Einar Øien (FrP)
 * 2015–2019: Odd Helge Gangstad (Sp)

Demographics
The municipality had 1,939 inhabitants (in January 2005), with 50.3% of the population being male. The percentage of people older than 67 was 18.3%; the unemployment rate was 2.3%, and the population growth was stable. Most inhabitants were fishers or small farmers.

Media
The newspaper Øyavis was published in Midsund from 1983 to 2016.