The third annual Name the Snowplow Contest began in November, before the snow began to fly in earnest. The contest was created by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) to engage people across the state in winter driving safety awareness. The SDDOT encourages travelers to use SD511 resources to make informed travel decisions during winter weather. Travelers can sign up for customized notifications on https://sd511.org to receive text messages and/or email notifications for road closure updates and travel advisories along pre-selected travel routes.
“As the recent December storms clearly demonstrated, our state public transportation system is vital not only for the citizens of South Dakota, but for those who rely on it from out-of-state as well,” said Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt. “I want to publicly thank our SDDOT winter maintenance staff, and all public servants, for their dedicated efforts to keep our roads clear, and travelers safe, in some of the toughest winter weather conditions we’ve experienced in years.”
When the snowplow naming contest ended on Nov. 30, 2022, over 650 entries had been submitted by individuals, families, elementary classrooms, senior living centers, and businesses across the entire state. SDDOT staff then voted on the submissions. In January, the contest winners will officially meet and take photos with their locally named snowplow.
Following is the list of winning plow names for the 12 SDDOT Areas:
Aberdeen Area: Luke Ice Walker
Belle Fourche Area: Catch My Drift
Custer Area: Black Hills Cold Rush
Huron Area: Thawsome
Mitchell Area: Sleetwood Mac
Mobridge Area: Snow Force One
Pierre Area: Little Plow on the Prairie
Sioux Falls Area: Blizzard Buster
Rapid City Area: Betty White-Out
Watertown Area: Snowmagator
Winner Area: Plowabunga
Yankton Area: 605 Polar Express
“My classrooms have taken part in the contest each of the three years since the contest began as I feel my kids don’t always know how important our plow drivers are,” said Tarra White, first grade teacher for Tiospa Zina Tribal School. “By engaging in this fun activity, it gives me a chance to explain to the students what operators do, why they do it, and how it all works.”
White’s first graders chose the name Snowmagator to submit to the contest this year. She added, “Pidamaya (thanks) to all the SDDOT snowplow operators for their hard work, we are excited that our class submission was chosen to be featured on a local snowplow.”
Snowplow naming photos and local stories will be shared on the SDDOT website at https://dot.sd.gov/inside-sddot/of-interest/sddot-snowplow-naming-contest.