Taylor Drift and Clark W. Blizzwald take top honors in Minnesota snowplow-naming contest
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RICHFIELD (AP) -- Travelers in northwestern Minnesota can shake off their trepidation about hitting the winter roads knowing Taylor Drift is clearing a path ahead of them.
The snowplow named for Taylor Swift was the runaway winner of Minnesota's fourth annual Name a Snowplow contest, with eight new names announced Tuesday. Taylor Drift received 12,027 votes, nearly twice as many as the second-place finisher, Clark W. Blizzwald -- honoring the star character of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."
In order of votes received, the other winners out of 49 finalists were Dolly Plowton, Waipahinte -- a Dakota word for "snowplow" -- Beyonsleigh, You're Killin' Me Squalls, Fast and Flurrious, and Barbie's Dream Plow.
"Minnesotans vote in huge numbers for these," Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference. "Thousands and thousands of Minnesotans come up with incredible creativity." The governor stood beside an orange-painted plow with a sticker bearing its new name, Barbie's Dream Plow.
Walz thanked the state's snowplow drivers for braving dangerous conditions, working 12-hour shifts and clearing 200 miles (322 kilometers) or more at a time.
The eight winning names were assigned to snowplows in different districts, with Taylor Drift going to one in northwest Minnesota and Barbie's Dream Plow going to another in the Twin Cities metro.
The often-icy state began naming its roughly 800 plows in 2020. More than three dozen names already grace trucks scraping snow off Minnesota highways.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation started the contest as a way to cheer people up during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Anne Meyer, a spokesperson for the agency.
"We have a lot of fun with this contest each year, but I also hope in its own way it increases the security and safety of the men and women who operate our snowplows," Meyer said.