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Minnesota DOT Name-a-Snowplow Contest Announces Results
- superkuh 5y agoThat's fun. But Minnesotans might also be interested in the what happens to the road (and other) run-off water. Minnesota Pollution Control's 2021 impaired water bodies result just came out too: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/minnesotas-impaired-waters-list https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/minnesotas-impaired-waters... It turns out that the St. Croix river that makes up much of the eastern state border near the Twin Cities is so heavily polluted with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid only 1 fish meal per month is being recommended. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/11/08/minn-lakes-with-forever-chemicals-added-to-states-list-of-troubled-waters https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/11/08/minn-lakes-with-for... https://eastmetrowater.org/2021/11/11/pfas-contamination-works-its-way-to-the-st-croix-river/ https://eastmetrowater.org/2021/11/11/pfas-contamination-wor... https://www.stcroix360.com/2021/11/every-st-croix-river-fish-scientists-tested-for-new-toxins-had-high-levels/ https://www.stcroix360.com/2021/11/every-st-croix-river-fish...
- tengbretson 5y agoWow and all they would have to do to fix it is not plow their roads? This sounds too good to be true!
- quickthrowman 5y agoTo be clear, the PFOS pollution in the St Croix is almost certainly from groundwater contamination from 3M manufacturing and dump sites near or in the lower St Croix watershed, not road water runoff.
- germinalphrase 5y agoThe 3M-PFAS connection is clearly established. Run off is also a known problem and clear trade offs are being considered. (which is not a dismissal for the problems).
- WkndTriathlete 5y agoYup. Minnesota's DNR is usually pretty well-informed and pretty proactive. De-icing around the Twin Cities metro has improved significantly over the past 5-10 years. Now if we could just convince the property owners around the lakes not to dump so much fertilizer on their lawns...
- mensetmanusman 5y agoI believe more specifically it is PFOS from the pre-70s. Interestingly, this was ww2 nation state technology that helped make missile components, then everyone wanted it to fight fires in ammo yards.
- rcurry 5y agoI used to be an avid fisherman and thirty years ago I’d routinely eat every decent fish that I caught. Now days I’m strictly catch and release - I just get a bad feeling about water quality no matter what lake I’m fishing in. I don’t follow eco stuff as much as I should, but I think it’s sad we can’t trust our lakes anymore.
- steve_adams_86 5y agoIt’s worth looking into data if it’s available. There’s a waterway in my city that was very polluted a century ago and is locally considered to be disgusting. Recent data shows it’s one of the cleanest in the city, now. There are clean places still, but you often need to dig to find out.
- superkuh 5y agoIn the 1980s and early 90s people didn't eat too many fish out the St. Croix because of the mercury (and other) levels. But in the 40 years since the river had seemingly cleared up really well and all the normal pollution indicators (like mercury) were low. I decided to start fishing it and eating fish from it again last year. Unfortunately they weren't testing for PFOS/PFAS till the end of last year. :|
- blurbleblurble 5y agoThe best name in the contest, "abolish ICE", got rejected.
- nopenopenopeno 5y agoThis is really sad to hear. What an excellent name.
- throwaway6767 5y agoI realize that it’s based on a movie, but it always surprises me how acceptable in the US are jokes about Eastern Europeans. Can you imagine “The big Leplowski” for a different group of people? It would cause an outrage.
- nkrisc 5y agoWhy are you making this about Eastern Europeans? There are countless Americans with that last name, it’s an American movie, and as I recall the characters in the movie bearing that name are American. Lastly, these snowplows are also in the US. Everything about this is American. Eastern Europeans don’t enter into it.
- throwaway6867 5y agoIt’s a Eastern European name. Countless Americans have it because they are of Eastern European origin.
- munk-a 5y agoThat's part of what it means to be a melting pot culture. The Big Leplowski isn't insulting or deriding some individual or family out of malice - it's a celebration of an important cultural production.
- 0des 5y agoThe entire world makes jokes about USA and a lot of them treats it as their duty to comment and laugh about various aspects of USA. This is human, and it is what makes global society great. You just want to screech about something. You couldn't even use a real account for it. You knew you aren't being a good sport.
- nkrisc 5y agoSorry, it’s an American name now too. I have an “Eastern European” last name too but I’m not Eastern European. My family has been in the US for at least three generations and come from all over Europe and different ethnic groups therein. I can’t call myself anything but American, and my last name is now American too.
- etothepii 5y agoSnowplow McSnowface
- function_seven 5y ago"Plowy McPlowFace" already won last year. :)
- PedroBatista 5y agoWhere's McPlowface?
- spenczar5 5y agoWon last year. Yep.
- laverya 5y agoMichigan's are better: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615-575096--,00.html https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615-575096--,00....
- in3d 5y agoCtrl Salt Delete, Scoop Dogg, Betty Whiteout, Plowasaurus Rex are in both lists.
- erichanson 5y agoThis makes me happy.
- gxqoz 5y agoI wonder when the trend of funny names for this type of stuff is going to end. I find these names mildly amusing but I have to think that at some point a younger audience is going to find this type of naming convention really cringeworthy.
- chrismeller 5y agoAbsolutely great.