JACKSON, Mich. — The next time it snows, Jackson residents could see their streets cleared by Han Snow-lo, the Big LePlowski, Sleetwood Mac, or the Scrape Gatsby.
That's because the city is allowing residents to name its five newest snowplows.
"Right now, they have names like 475 and 474, which we think are rather boring," said Aaron Dimick, Jackson's public information officer. "It'd be better if they had more fun names and we think that'd be better for the community."
Residents can send in their best name ideas through a form on the city's website.
"We will go through all the hundreds of submissions, pick our top 10 favorites, and then people will vote on social media," Dimick said. "And then we'll take the top five, vote-getters and then apply them to the trucks."
Dimick said the submissions are already coming fast and flurry-ous.
"We originally sent out news release and social media posts last Friday, and since then, we've gotten hundreds of submissions," Dimick said.
While Dimick says snow puns are popular among early submissions, the city is looking for names that are more Jackson-specific.
"The ones that are getting to the top of lists are the ones that reference people or places in Jackson," Dimick said.
And it can be a slippery slope between clever and corny.
"We've gotten a lot of Plowy McPlow Face, and we're really tired of seeing that. So please be more creative," he said.
The city already had a naming context for leaf vacuum trucks in 2019, which resulted in names like Jack, in honor of the city's name, Ella, after Ella Sharp Park and Cooper, after Cooper Street.
The naming contest is similar to one conducted by the Michigan Department of Transportation earlier this month, in which the public submitted names for the state's approximately 330 snowplows.
The deadline to submit name ideas is 5 p.m. Friday. Next week, the city of Jackson will be posting polls on their social media accounts so residents can vote on the top five names.
