Earlier this winter MnDOT asked for suggestions for names to give eight of the snowplows in their fleet, and much to their surprise and amazement, Minnesotans submitted nearly 24,000 ideas. That massive list was then pared down to the final 50, and then it was time to vote.

I think Minnesota got the idea from Scotland, which names all of its plows -- with Minnesota dipping its toe in the pool by committing to name eight. I'll be surprised if that number doesn't grow again next year.

Some of the names given to Scotland's snow plows in include Buzz IceClear, Sweet Child O-Brine, Creedence Clear-Road Revival, Megameltasaurus, Salt Disney, For Your Ice Only, and License to Chill.

MnDOT's eight snowplow names represented one plow from each of the state's transportation districts.

Minnesota's 2021 Eight Winners Are...

I'm glad to see that my personal favorite 'Duck, Duck, Orange Truck made the cut. It's not enough to create names in an online poll, now MnDOT must paint the names all over the eight trucks clearing the roads across the state.

"Hey MOM, look -- it's Plowy McPlowFace!" That has to happen.

Here's how the 122,000+ votes for all fifty finalists came in:

Here's hoping we don't need top see many of these big orange snowplows on Minnesota's highways many more times this season. Think Summer!