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The Minnesota Department of Transportation has received thousands of submissions like those in the first days of its new 

. The agency is giving people the chance to name eight snowplows — one in each MnDOT district around the state.

MnDOT communications director Jake Loesch said there were about 8,000 entries just in the first day, after the contest opened on Thursday. They've come from all corners of the state — and beyond.

"There are definitely submissions coming in from across the country, too, which is fun — and a lot of people have flagged (that) ‘I'm in Washington D.C., but I'm a native Minnesotan,’ or something like that," Loesch said. "So clearly, it's got some interest. ... The social media attention has been a lot of fun to see."

"I really was surprised at how fast they came in and and how many people were sharing it. I knew it would be something people liked, given the attention we saw last week and people asking about it. But I mean, it's kind of blown me away, honestly."

 until Jan. 22, then pick a slate of finalists. There'll be voting in February to determine the eight winners.

'Plow Bunyan?' MnDOT to name snowplows in Minnesota

The contest was inspired by a similar naming program Scotland uses for its snowplows, that received 

some worldwide publicity earlier in the month

"It's an easy, fun, lighthearted thing we can do to engage the public, and people are really showing their creativity in their submissions," Loesch said.

Scotland lets people track the plows — by name — 

. Loesch said that's not yet planned for Minnesota's 

, but it could be considered in the future.

"(We could) do another contest next winter ... and incorporate that tracking component in there,” he said. “The possibilities are endless, and we're just having fun with it right now and seeing what we can do to make sure people can follow where their favorite plows go."

Minnesota News

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Andrew Krueger

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"Plow" Bunyan? "Salter" Mondale? The Minnesota Department of Transportation has received thousands of submissions like those in the first days of its new "Name a Snowplow" contest. There were about 8,000 entries just in the first day.

A Minnesota Department of Transportation plow clears snow

MnDOT seeing a blizzard of submissions in its 'Name a Snowplow' contest

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