Gaylord I-74 Change

A third interchange on Interstate 75 may be on the way to Gaylord, the second-fastest growing community in Michigan. The Northeast Michigan Council of Governments this summer published a transportation study about additional east-west connectors for Gaylord, which is bisected by the north-south interstate and has only two points in the area to cross to the other side. "We've learned that, indeed, we have some traffic problems," said Jeff Ratcliffe, executive director of the Otsego County Economic Alliance. The study identifies the two major problem areas as the two interchanges with I-75.The largest problem is at the interchange with M-32, which also is Main Street. During busy drive times each day, traffic backs up with motorists and tractor-trailers waiting to get on and off the interstate.The other problem area is on the southern side of town, where the I-75 interchange meets with Otsego Avenue, also known as the I-75 Business Loop. Traffic there also tends to clog during rush hours.

Otsego County Accident

A 33-year-old Chesterfield man was killed when his snowmobile struck a tree in Otsego County.
Michigan State Police reported the victim, Kevin Zalenski, struck the tree last Sunday at a curved portion of the snowmobile trail in Hayes Township near the intersection of Northwoods Drive and Heatherwood Street.