Update: "Blizzo" was chosen as one of eight winners in the contest. More than 64,000 people around Minnesota voted for their favorite names, and "Blizzo" was chosen with 14,935 votes, the second most votes of all 60 finalists. The snowplow named "Blizzo" will work to clear streets in the Twin Cities Metro area. In addition to "Blizzo," the other winners include "Yer a Blizzard, Harry," "Clearopathtra," "Better Call Salt" and "Han Snowlo." The sixth graders received a shout-out on Twitter from Lizzo thanking them for naming a snowplow after her. Learn more about the winners on the MnDOT website.
At Osseo Middle School, scholars in Ann Mack’s sixth grade class’ submission to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was named one of the 60 finalists in the contest. Voting for the final round of the contest ended at midnight on Friday, Feb. 3.
After bouncing around many ideas and possible names, Mack’s class came up with the name “Blizzo,” a combination of blizzard and Lizzo.
“One student said Plow Dylan, so I was thinking how to make it more about a Minnesotan artist while also including something that happens a lot in winter, like a blizzard,” scholar Joe Zenga said. “And we came up with ‘Blizzo.’”
“I think it would be such a cool opportunity to have the idea that we came up with be in the top eight and have a snowplow named that,” added Grace Benson.
The students were very excited to hear that their submission was chosen as one of the top 60 submissions out of over 10,000. The students credited their teamwork and creativity for their success so far, and they have been encouraging everyone they know to vote for “Blizzo.” If they are chosen as one of the final eight names, they are going to celebrate their accomplishment with a class party.
“Osseo Area Schools pays for a subscription to the Star Tribune for schools to use. I try to connect what is happening in our state to what we are learning, and this was a great way to have some fun,” Mack said.
This is the third year that the MnDOT has held their contest to name the newest snowplows to their fleet. This year, MnDOT received over 10,000 submissions of potential names. The list was narrowed down to 60 finalists, including the name submitted by Mack’s class. The next round of voting is going on now, with eight winning names chosen. The eight names that get the most votes will be applied to a snowplow in each district across the state. Winners from previous years include “No More Mr. Ice Guy,” “Plowy McPlowFace,” “Snowbi Wan Kenobi” and “Ctrl Salt Delete.”
Voting closed on Friday, Feb. 3. The winning snowplow names will be announced in the next few weeks via the MnDOT website.