NDOT Reveals Winners of 2022 “Name a Snowplow” Contest

March 29, 2022 (Lincoln, Neb.) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) has announced the winners of its inaugural “Name a Snowplow” contest! With more than 300 submissions by Nebraska elementary school students, the list was narrowed down to 17 winners.  

According to Shannon Ankeny, NDOT Director of Communications and Public Policy, the creativity of students’ submissions was impressive, making it difficult to narrow down the list. Some of the winning names included Blizzard of Oz, Darth Blader, Snowbuster, and Snow Big Red.  

Ankeny noted, “We were excited to give Nebraska’s students the chance to get involved in naming our plows. It’s also a great way to recognize our hardworking snowplow drivers and maintenance workers, who are often the unsung heroes of keeping our roads safe during and after winter weather.”  

The selected plows will be branded with their new monikers and have been updated on NDOT’s https://plows.nebraska.gov where the name and location of each plow is available in real time. While NDOT has over 600 snowplows, these 17 winners will be the only ones identified by name for now. NDOT will share additional information on its social media pages, including when the 17 names are placed on the snowplows. 

According to Ankeny, NDOT plans to have another contest next year, with the goal to have 30 new names to add by early October. 

Here are the schools with winning snowplow names and the districts to which they will be assigned,