News · Traverse City
Grand Traverse County Commissioner Lauren Flynn pleads not guilty to a ‘super drunk’ charge from a July traffic stop
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Grand Traverse County Commissioner Lauren Flynn has pleaded not guilty to a high blood-alcohol drunk driving charge, often called Michigan’s “super drunk” law, nearly three months after a state trooper pulled her over in Grand Traverse County.
Flynn, 46, was arraigned by Zoom on Tuesday in 86th District Court in Antrim County on one count of operating with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 or more, a misdemeanor, UpNorthLive (WPBN) reported. Her attorney waived a formal reading of the charge and entered the plea for her.
A charge is only an accusation. Flynn is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The stop. Michigan State Police said a trooper stopped Flynn around 9:55 p.m. on Friday, July 24, according to WPBN. The Traverse Ticker reported that the trooper made the stop after seeing “poor driving,” that field sobriety tests were given and that Flynn agreed to a blood test.
Why it took three months. County commissioners set the budget for the county prosecutor’s office, so the Grand Traverse prosecutor had a conflict of interest. Antrim County Prosecuting Attorney Wilson Bott is handling the case as a special prosecutor, the Ticker reported. Special prosecutors have stepped in before when Grand Traverse commissioners faced criminal accusations: the Ticker noted that the attorney general’s office took the 2024 case of then-Vice Chair Brad Jewitt, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor that year, and that a special prosecutor was named in 2023 when Commissioner Brian McAllister was arrested on a drunk driving charge.
Bond terms. Magistrate Sarah Carter said an interim bond had been posted but did not state the amount, WPBN reported. While the case is pending, Flynn may not drink alcohol or use drugs, must take and pass breath tests twice a day and must stay out of bars and casinos. A probable cause conference and preliminary exam had not yet been scheduled.
What the charge carries. Michigan’s high-BAC law applies to drivers at 0.17 or above, more than twice the 0.08 legal limit. According to the Michigan State Police, a first offense can bring up to 180 days in jail, a fine of $200 to $700 and up to 360 hours of community service, plus a one-year license suspension with no driving for the first 45 days and then only with an ignition interlock, and required alcohol treatment. The Ticker reported that Flynn has no prior drunk driving conviction.
Who she represents. Flynn, a Democrat, won the District 2 seat in 2022 over Republican Ellen Koenig and was reelected in 2024 over Republican Daniel G. Smith, the Ticker reported. The district covers Traverse City’s Precinct 7 and Garfield Township Precincts 4, 6 and 7, according to WPBN. Her term has two years left.
More Traverse City news is on our Traverse City page.
Sources:
UpNorthLive (WPBN), “Grand Traverse County commissioner arraigned on ‘super drunk’ charge,” Oct. 20, 2026, updated Oct. 21 (arraignment, plea, bond terms, district), https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/grand-traverse-county-commissioner-arraigned-on-super-drunk-charge
The Ticker, “Grand Traverse County Commissioner Arraigned on Drunk Driving Charge,” Oct. 21, 2026 (stop details, special prosecutor, prior cases, election history), https://www.traverseticker.com/news/grand-traverse-county-commissioner-arraigned-on-drunk-driving-charge/
Michigan State Police, Office of Highway Safety Planning, “Impaired Driving Law” (high-BAC penalties), https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/ohsp/ohsp-traffic-safety-programs/impaired-driving/impaired-driving-law
Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.625, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectname=mcl-257-625
Photo: rossograph, “Grand Traverse County Courthouse.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_Traverse_County_Courthouse.jpg
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