MINNEAPOLIS— The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Name a Snowplow contest is back for its fifth year.
Every year the competition gives thousands of people the opportunity to submit and vote for the names of the machines that maintain the roads in the winter. Typically the names are witty and wintery, such as Betty Whiteout, Cleopatra and The Big Leplowski. Last year, Taylor Drift was the most popular name.
The first year of the contest there were approximately 24,000 entries and 122,000 votes cast. Participation has since declined, with around 8,000 entries in the final competition.
A person can submit only one name, limited to 30 characters. No vulgar language or politically inspired names will be included, MnDOT says. The submission window closes on December 20th.
Staff will sift through the submissions and finalize the final ones before putting them to a public vote in January. Eight names will be chosen – one for each MnDOT district.
What are the Name a Snow Plow winners?
Past winners include many Minnesota-themed names, as well as references to movies and fictional characters. The first year’s winners included Plowy McPlowFace, Plow Bunyan and Darth Blader. Favorites since then include Ctrl Salt Delete, Dolly Plowton and Sleetwood Mac.
Click here for a complete list of past winners.
How many shifts does MnDOT have?
There are approximately 800 snow plows that MnDOT distributes across the state to cover 12,000 miles of roadways during a winter storm. According to the department, the time it takes to complete a route ranges from one to two hours. In rural areas this can take up to eight hours.
