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The Detroit News revamped its website during ONA Conference week, sparking some interest among other Michigan online news producers, and now has grabbed the attention of MidwestBusiness.com.

The Business Technology news site lists the Detroit News’ site as the top online news org in the Midwest, ahead of the Chicago Tribune (9), Indianapolis Star (6) and MLIVE.COM!!! (not listed). The pub based its ratings on Navigation, Look & Feel, Uniquenes and Content. DetNews scored a 39/40.

The DetNews design is similar to the San Jose Mercury News and the Denver Post and I’m sure other Media Group affiliates.

The Detroit Newspaper’s design certainly is flashy and easy to navigate. It breaks stories out into easy to find spaces and uses lots of photos (which really helps draw the eye).

The DetNews does do well to break down content and make its inside section pages work well as entry pages. Kudos for that. Still, the site could use some optimization as the URLs still don’t offer clear navigation. News sites should think about search engine optimization into the plans when undergoing a design overhaul.

The site also offers plenty of RSS options, but I still wonder where the reader interaction comes into play. The site offers comments on stories, but doesn’t promote user interaction at all.

Cool list, what do you think? Is there a better newspaper web site in the Midwest?