Imagine you’re a first-time visitor driving up from the Twin Cities. Your kids are hungry and you catch a glimpse of Poncho and Lefty’s on the left.

Today, your route is simple. Drive north through the 371/210 intersection. Turn at Excelsior Road. If you miss that turn, you can hang another left. You arrive, you eat, you might shop nearby, and you leave thinking you’ll be back.

Now imagine you’re a senior citizen on your way to Essentia’s new orthopedic clinic from the south. You don’t drive as much as you used to, but you know the route. You take a familiar left and you’re there.

If the proposed “buttonhook” interchange design is approved by the Baxter City Council, both trips change. Each driver would rise onto an overpass at high speed, merge into the right lane at the right time, ci

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