In Minnesota, snowplows are given names and snowplow drivers are local celebrities. Plowy McPlowface, Darth Blader and F. Salt Fitzgerald, just to name a few. During the pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Transportation decided to do something fun.
"We thought last year with everyone at home, it would be something fun to do, to have a naming contest, and oh my goodness did it take off," says Anne Meyer, with Minnesota Department of Transportation. The idea came from Scotland, which has more than 50 plows named. In fact, voting is taking place now for the next round of plows to be named in Minnesota, if you want to get in on the fun.
Some of the names you can vote on this year include "CTRL Salt Delete," "Edward Blizzardhands" and "Betty Whiteout," after the legendary actress who passed away on New Year's Eve.
"It gives it more personality and makes it more human," says Meyer. "People take more caution knowing we have folks inside these plows. So, we hoped it would help remind people we are doing a job out there and help protect our men and women who are behind the wheel."
Snowplow drivers, like Pendergast and the other 1,600 plow drivers across Minnesota, have a dangerous job on the snowy highways of Minnesota. Working 12-hour shifts, the men and women run 80,000-pound trucks that simultaneously plow the streets and lay down salt and chemicals to keep the roads from becoming an icy mess.