In wintry Minnesota, there’s a belief that every snowplow deserves a name

Snowplows are essential to enduring winter in Minnesota, so maybe it's not surprising that every year thousands of people vote on names for the giant machines that clear the state's roads, such as Plowy McPlowFace and Darth Blader. The often-icy state began naming its 800 plows in 2020 and is expected to announce winners of its 2023-2024 Name a Snowplow contest early next week, adding eight selections to more than three dozen names that already grace trucks scraping snow off Minnesota highways. “We definitely know snow in Minnesota, and anyone who lives up here knows the challenges of those conditions and the challenges of trying to keep roads safe for folks to travel during the winter,” said Anne Meyer, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which hosts the contest.