POST FALLS — It's big.

It's bad.

And if "The Berminator" could talk, each winter it would say, "I'll be back."

"It's pretty sweet," Post Falls Middle School eighth grader Griffin Dooley said after jumping out of the driver's seat of the Idaho Transportation Department snowplow, freshly branded with a bold new moniker across its blade.

"It's awesome," Griffin said. "It was really cool. It was comfortable. A lot of controls."

Brittany Schwaderer's eighth grade art students were abuzz with excitement Wednesday during a visit from ITD and local media. Post Falls Middle School was one of two ITD Region 1 schools to win ITD's Name a Snowplow contest, a new competition launched in fall 2024.

The other Region 1 school to name a snowplow was Lakeland Middle School in Rathdrum, which submitted "The Big Snowplowski" as its winning entry.

Although it was a group effort voted on by the whole class, Post Falls Middle School's Travin White was the first to suggest "The Berminator." He said his grandfather is a big fan of "The Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"It just popped up in my head," the eighth grader said.

He said it was pretty exciting his class was selected as one of the winners.

"It feels amazing," he said.

ITD transportation technician operators Daryl Rise and Gary Davis showed the students around the 58,000-pound machine after Davis gave a thorough presentation about how to be safe drivers and stay out of harm's way when approaching snowplows during winter conditions.

Angela Francisco enjoyed the view from the top after climbing into the passenger seat of "The Berminator."

"Imagine how big this is, how hard it can hurt a person in a car," she said. "It makes it even more scary in person."

The operators were among ITD staffers who selected the winning names from 40 submissions they received from North Idaho students. Some of the local entries they received were, "Big Bertha," "Darth Blader," "Hulk," "King Bob," "Perry Plowtypus," "Sir Plows a Lot" and "The Wow Plow."

"Our whole crew argued over it," Rise said. "We wanted 'The Berminator.' That was the first choice. And I won. I got it on my plow."

Rise said the contest has been a great way for ITD to engage with students who will soon be driving on the roads the department maintains.

"They're going to get their learner's permits next year," he said. "They're the future drivers of our community. They're going to be on the bridges that we're building, they're going to be on the roads we're building. It's good to have the community outreach and get out and speak with these young adults about it."

Schwaderer said the community involvement and the whole process have been fun for her students.

"That's a wonderful thing about public school," she said. "They have all these opportunities to connect to our community and everything local, and they got a synopsis of what it's going to be like when they start driving. That's coming up soon. They got a lesson they normally wouldn't have received if they hadn't done this."

    Eighth grader Travin White on Wednesday discusses how he suggested the name "The Berminator" for the Idaho Transportation Department's inaugural Name a Snowplow Contest. Post Falls Middle School was one of two Region 1 schools to submit winning names.
  

Post Falls Middle School eighth grader Griffin Dooley investigates the cab of the newly named "The Berminator" snowplow Wednesday with assistance from Idaho Transportation Department snowplow operator Daryl Rise.

    Post Falls Middle School eighth grader Angela Francisco checks out the passenger side of "The Berminator" Wednesday during a visit from Idaho Transportation Department officials. Angela's class was celebrated for submitting a winning name for the department's Name a Snowplow Contest.
  

    Transportation technician operator Gary Davis, who has been with the Idaho Transportation Department nearly 16 years, educates Post Falls Middle School eighth graders during a presentation Wednesday about the damage that can happen when snowplows and vehicles collide.