It's over half a century old but MnDOT's tried-and-true snowblower answered the call during last week's blizzard here in southeast Minnesota.

To be eligible for collector license plates ('antique plates' as we used to call them back in Wisconsin) here in Minnesota, your vehicle only has to be 20 years old. Well, this MnDOT snowblower qualifies for those plates-- and then some.

Because last week's massive blizzard caused MnDOT to put in the call for their oldest snowblower-- a massive truck-mounted snowblower nicknamed 'Herman'-- to bust through those huge snowdrifts on I-35 south of Owatonna... and it's 51 years old!

I'm not sure what I like best about this story-- the fact that MnDOT is still using a 1968 model snowblower, or that fact that they've named it Herman-- but it's still a pretty cool tale.

MnDOT posted a picture of Herman on their Twitter page earlier this week along with a Star Tribune story that noted the massive truck-mounted snowblower takes two employees to operate (one to drive and one to control the snow chute) and is one of 16 different Sno-Go machines MnDOT uses across the state.

It's also one of oldest-- and the most dependable, too, the story said, noting that no matter what Mother Nature throws at him, Herman just keeps chugging along this winter, just like he has the past 50 winter seasons.

And Herman isn't just used in special situations, either. The story said he normally patrols bridges and snowbanks in the Twin Cities area, but was trucked down to our neck of the woods last week to help clean up after that blizzard dumped over a foot of snow on us.

So, here's to you, Herman. Thanks for your many years of service --all 51 of them-- to Minnesota!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

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