Osseo Middle School students who led a successful campaign to name a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) snowplow "Blizzo" got to see the truck Thursday.
Sixth-graders in teacher Ann Mack's history class pushed hard for the name — a nod to music superstar Lizzo — during MnDOT's 2023 "Name a Snowplow" contest, which asked Minnesotans to vote on names submitted by the public.
Blizzo garnered nearly 15,000 votes in the online contest — good for second place.
In a video tweet days after MnDOT announced the results, the Grammy-winning artist said she was blown away after learning of the student's efforts and the final vote tally.
"Of all the awards I've received, this by far is the highest honor," she said. "To know that there is a snowplow named Blizzo that is clearing the streets of the Twin Cities right now makes my heart melt ... or freeze."
Lizzo, who started her career in Minneapolis, also gave a shoutout to the Osseo students during the 48-second video.
"Thank you for nominating moi as the recipient of this esteemed honor!" she said. "Thank you so much for supporting me."
The snowplow Class of 2023 includes "Clearopathtra" (northeast Minnesota), "Better Call Salt" (central Minnesota), "Han Snowlo" (south central Minnesota), "Blader Tot Hotdish" (northwest Minnesota), "Scoop! There It Is" (southeast Minnesota) and "Sleetwood Mac" (west-central Minnesota).
MnDOT in 2020 was the first transportation department in the country to launch a snowplow naming contest in an effort to bring some levity to winter.
The contest could return for a fourth year in 2024, said MnDOT spokeswoman Anne Meyer.
