Hey Krazyace,
You are not in a bad spot for detecting. You know where the Indian Village was north of town? I think I have its location on one of my maps but I never went to that area. Cheas-A-ning or some other way to spell it was an Indian word which I think means City on the water or some such. I got it written down somewhere. It's been a few years since I read the local history.
I know the Chesaning/Owosso/Corunna area was pounded starting in the mid-70's. I did not start detecting until 1996 but a friend of mine that I sometimes MD with lives in Owosso and has MD'd since the late 60's. He told me that there used to be six MD clubs in Owosso and the surrounding area back in the 70's and 80's. There are none now. I think everybody and their brother did it back in the 70's. One of my co-workers even told me that his dad used to take him detecting 25 years ago but he himself had no interest in it.
When I first started detecting I went to the local park where there is an old stone with a plaque noting that it used to be a boy scout meeting place. My dad and I scoured the place and did not find a single coin. Then my Owosso friend tells me "Oh yeah we used to hold our club meetings there in the 70's" so that explains why it was cleaned out. He told me that some of the old places may still produce a coin using the new machines.
None of the towns around this area have any metal detecting ordinances that I know of, just be sure to cover your holes and if anyone asks tell them you are looking for pennies. In the 14 years I have been detecting in Shiawassee, Clinton, Gratiot and Saginaw counties I have only ever seen one other detectorist out there and only know of less then six of us who do it in this area, so you will not have much competition.
Good Luck,
Scott (MI)