Minnesota Prairie Roots

WHEN IT COMES to plowing snow, getting the white stuff off city streets as quickly as possible is likely top of mind for most property owners. We’re thankful when the plow clears our street, but even more thankful if that’s done before we’ve opened our driveways. There’s nothing quite as maddening as the snowplow plugging up the end of your driveway with a ridge of snow right after you’ve put away the shovel or snowblower. Timing is everything.

But now the City of Faribault has put a little fun into snow removal by sponsoring a Name a Snowplow contest, much like the one held annually by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The winners of Faribault’s inaugural contest to name two new snowplows are…drum roll, please: Ctrl Salt Delete with 84 votes (28 percent) and Darth Blader with 67 votes (22 percent). Both names were past winners in MnDOT contests.

Coming in third was Alexander Fariblow with 48 votes out of the 300-plus cast. Even though only two names were supposed to win, city officials discussed and decided to go with a third winner for a large front-end blower used to clear the downtown area. Good call, I say, as the name honors town founder Alexander Faribault whose 1853 wood-frame house stands downtown.

So how did the city get from contest idea to tagging two plows and a blower with names? First they asked for suggestions from the community with around 50 ideas submitted. Those were narrowed to six. The other three were Frost Responder, Farisnow and The Big Snowplowski. Then voting opened online.

But the city offered one more ballot option which I really like because it got kids involved. At a Halloween event at a local car dealership, the city placed decals of the top six names on the front of a snowplow. Kids and/or parents could then vote by putting their initials by their preferred name. About 60 votes were cast in that unique poll.

All in all, I’d say this first Name a Snowplow contest in Faribault was a success if you’re measuring community engagement and novel winter fun.

Additionally, maybe seeing Ctrl Salt Delete or Darth Blader roaring down a snowy street will help us to be a bit more understanding if our driveway is plowed shut just after we’ve opened it. Maybe. I mean, raging at Darth Blader seems risky.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling