Actually, just a few days ago in downtown Fort Dodge, 10-year-old Atzell Lopez waved from the front seat as he rode down Central Avenue during the 2023 Frontier Days parade. Though, instead of a YT-1300 freighter named the Millennium Falcon, he was riding in a 2022 Mack snow plow truck named “Han Snowlo,” in homage to the Millennium Falcon’s pilot, Han Solo.

Last month, the Webster County Roads Department held a snow plow naming contest for students in kindergarten through fifth grade across Webster County to submit possible names for the department’s newest member of its fleet. The department received more than 35 entries and after three rounds of voting by county employees, the entry from Lopez was the winner.

“It feels really great,” Lopez, who just finished fourth grade, said of winning the contest. “Because I thought I would never make it; I didn’t think my name would get chosen, but it did.”

To celebrate the contest and winning entry, Lopez got to ride in the Han Snowlo truck during Saturday’s parade.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
The Webster County Roads Department's newest snow plow will now go by the name Han Snowlo, the winning entry from 10-year-old Atzell Lopez, of Fort Dodge.

“I was kind of nervous and excited at the same time,” he said.

According to the Webster County Roads Department Facebook page, the truck has an 11-foot-wide front plow, a nine-foot wing plow on the passenger side, as well as a belly blade under the truck that, all together, help move a nearly 18-foot-wide area of snow in one pass. The dump box of the truck can carry nearly 10 tons of material and it is used in both winter operations and summer maintenance.

The dump box of the truck sports its new name, along with Lopez’s.

Liz Lopez, Atzell’s mom, said Atzell had some help brainstorming name ideas from his 13-year-old brother, Aiden, who just missed the cutoff to be able to participate himself.

“Aiden is the one that’s really into Star Wars,” Liz Lopez said.

The two boys had fun coming up with name ideas, she said.

“They thought it was the coolest thing,” Liz Lopez said.

Atzell Lopez also submitted the names “Salty Business” and “Frosted Blades.”

“Like Frosted Flakes cereal,” his mom explained.

Though the winning contest entry was officially made by Atzell, he invited his brother to ride with him in the front seat of the truck during Saturday’s parade.

This is the first time the Roads Department has held a snow plow naming contest, but it won’t be the last, according to County Engineer Jamie Johll.

“We’ll have more contests in the future for other groups to come up with names,” he said.