Voting has begun for the state’s “Name a Snowplow” contest.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation received almost 24,000 creative name suggestions for the competition. After combing through the submissions, MnDOT has put together a list of 50 finalists the public will vote on.

Late in 2020, the Minnesota Department of Transportation asked locals to submit names for the eight snowplow fleets in Minnesota. The number eight represents the eight MnDOT districts. Today, they’ve asking the public to vote on the winners.

The criteria of selecting the finalists was a combination of things: names that were submitted frequently, names that would be easily identifiable and understood by many, names that were unique or creative, and Minnesota-specific names.

Some examples of names are, “Ain’t Snow Stopping Us Now,” “Plow Bunyan,” “Minnesota nICE,” “Ope, Just Gonna Plow Right Past YA,” and many more.

Voting for the names of the snowplows will be open from Thursday, February 18 to Friday, February 26 at 5 PM.

By — Chris Burns