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Duluth News
Dan Kraker
Duluth

City of Duluth adds to flurry of snowplow naming contests

Two orange snow plows labeled Plowabunga and Taylor Drift
Newly donned snowplows Taylor Drift and Plowabunga, courtesy of Washington County's naming contest.
Washington County

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Adding to the recent flurry of snowplow naming contests unveiled around the state in the past couple years, the city of Duluth has announced its first-ever snowplow naming contest ahead of this coming winter.

The city is inviting Duluth residents to submit their most creative names for one of the city’s snowplow fleet through Oct. 21.

City staff will then narrow the final list of contenders to ten, which will be posted on social media and the city’s website.

Voting then takes place the week of Oct. 28, with the winner being announced Nov. 11. The newly christened snowplow will make its public debut at the Christmas City of the North parade on Nov. 22.

The city promises the winner a prize package that will make them “the absolute envy of their neighborhood,” including the opportunity to take a photo with the plow and the crew, a ride-a-long in the plow during the parade or to school, and “unlimited bragging rights.”

There are a few guidelines. Names should be under 25 characters and no more than three words.

Profanity is not allowed. And in the spirit of civility during a heated election season, politically inspired names will not be considered.

“Naming snowplows is meant to be fun and lighthearted, so we’re going to keep this contest nonpartisan and nonpolitical,” the contest rules state.

Some of the more notable winning submissions in the four years since the Minnesota Department of Transportation launched its snowplow naming contest include “Taylor Drift,” “Blizzo,” “Ctrl Salt Delete” and “Plowy McPlowFace.”

Name a plow
MnDOT Name a Snowplow Contest.
MnDOT

This past winter, MnDOT staff also helped to name three additional snowplows: two in Ojibwe — Giiwedin or The North Wind, and Goonodaabaan or Snow Vehicle — and the Dakota word Ičamna or Blizzard.

Other local governments with snowplow naming contests include Washington County— which also boasts a Taylor Swift-inspired plow, Carver County, where “Blizzard Wizard” was the winning submission last year, and St. Louis Park, which crowned “The Big SnowPlowski” the winner.