ST. PAUL — You're Welcome, Don'tcha Snow and Skol Plow are among the newest named snowplows set to deploy in Northern Minnesota as part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation fleet.
State officials announced the latest round of winning names on Thursday, Feb. 13, in MnDOT's Name a Snowplow contest.
The winning names, in order of vote totals, and their future homes are:
- We’re Off To See The Blizzard – District 8 (Southwest Minnesota)
- Snowtorious B.I.G. – District 4 (West Central Minnesota)
- Plowabunga! – District 6 (Southeast Minnesota)
- Anthony Sledwards – Metro District (Twin Cities)
- You’re Welcome – District 2 (Northwest Minnesota)
- Don’tcha Snow – District 3 (Central Minnesota)
- Skol Plow – District 1 (Northeast Minnesota)
- I Came, I Thaw, I Conquered – District 7 (South Central Minnesota)
Nearly 23,500 voters cast ballots in this year’s contest. The order of all 50 finalists can be found on MnDOT’s Name a Snowplow website.
“Each season we have so much fun selecting new and creative snowplow names, but this contest is also a great way to highlight the hard work of our snowplow drivers and keep them safe,” stated MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger in the announcement. “Please slow down and give our snowplow drivers plenty of space to clear roads safely every time it snows.”
MnDOT invited people to submit creative snowplow name ideas in December 2024 and received more than 7,300 submissions. Most suggestions were submitted multiple times by multiple people. Agency staff narrowed the list to 50 finalists for the public to vote on. This is the fifth year that MnDOT has hosted the Name a Snowplow contest.
Statewide, MnDOT now has 44 named snowplows, including Plowy McPlowFace, Betty Whiteout and Taylor Drift. In addition to the 40 named snowplows selected through the annual Name a Snowplow contests, MnDOT staff have also helped to name four additional snowplows statewide in acknowledgement of highways the state plows adjacent to tribal lands. They are Giiwedin-The North Wind; Goonodaabaan-Snow Vehicle (both Ojibwe); and Icamna-Blizzard and Wakta!-Watch Out! (both Dakota).
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Entrepreneurs shaped downtown more than 100 years ago near the Lake Bemidji waterfront. Members of the Bemidji Heritage Preservation are committed to sharing their stories.
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Rain made for an interesting end to the baseball season for many Class A teams Thursday. Grand Rapids lost in the 3A consolation championship.
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Three of the four Republicans voted in favor of rescinding funding already allocated for public media organizations through the CPB and four Democrats voted against.
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KAXE responds to the House vote to rescind public media funding and urges the Senate to protect trusted local news, emergency alerts and community programming in Northern Minnesota.
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Although education spending will increase, school districts will notice cuts to state aid for special education, school libraries and student supports like counselors and nurses.
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Brainerd senior Ty Nelson won another triple jump title Thursday, June 12, 2025, as Northern Minnesota 2A and 3A teams collectively won 88 medals at the state track and field meet.
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Plus: the Northland has nine more state champs in golf, track and field after state tournaments.
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KAXE's weekly list of concerts near you features Rich Mattson & Germaine Gemberling, Mae Simpson Band, Sam Miltich, Christopher David Hanson and MorningBird.
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Summer Muse Festival is meant to be a celebration of the creative spirit of the season featuring artists, musicians and food vendors. Founder Diamond joined ‘Area Voices’ to talk about the festival.
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Events this week include a kids fishing tourney and Loop the Lake Festival in Bemidji, a Bells and More concert in Cohasset, Spring Bike Fling in Walker and Itasca Pride Fest in Grand Rapids.