Naughty? Boring? Nebraska's new license plate draws sharp opinions

March 23, 2016 at 1:19PM
The design of the new Nebraska license plate is shown at a news conference Tuesday in Lincoln.
The design of the new Nebraska license plate is shown at a news conference Tuesday in Lincoln. (Randy Salas — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Nebraska's governor unveiled a new license plate design Tuesday, and reaction to the central image of a barefooted planter tossing seeds from an outstretched apron was met with scorn and ridicule from some constituents.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said with pride during the "ta-da!" unveiling in Lincoln that "one of our state's most recognizable images, The Sower, is displayed in the background, above the recognition of our state's 150th year of statehood."

And it's the sower — his statue sits atop the state's Capitol building — who is yielding a bumper crop's worth of mocking rejoinders on the governor's official Facebook page and in other social media outlets.

"We are not a sower. A combine, tractor, cornfield, cows, football, blizzard, sunshine, ANYTHING but this please!!!!" posted one commenter.

"Is this a ploy to get people to shell out $70 for specialty plates? I know I will," wrote another. "And the design is sooooo boring."

Several people on Twitter, Facebook and the comment section of the Omaha World-Herald's report saw a certain naughtiness in how the sower was extending his apron just below his waist. "[He] looks like he's doing something he shouldn't be doing in public," one critic wrote.

Other themes included "ugly," "yuck" and disappointment that the state has re­inforced its "flyover country" reputation.

The top of the plate features "Nebraska" in gold lettering on a blue field. The bottom of the plate highlights the year of Nebraska's statehood — 1867 — as well as the year of the state's 150th birthday.

There also was much lament for the lack of red — the signature color of the University of Nebraska "Big Red" Cornhuskers football team. "Why do we have University of Michigan colors on our new plates?" read a posting on coverage from the Omaha World-Herald.

Unless there is a change of heart in the heartland, the plates will start debuting on bumpers in January.

Rhonda Lahm, Nebraska's director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, joined the governor at the ceremony and acknowledged the blowback from some constituents.

"The design of the Sower is a very traditional image for the state of Nebraska," Lahm said. "We feel it is very appropriate for our state celebrating its 150th birthday."

She added that "other people can interpret whatever they want to interpret" concerning the risqué impression some critics are getting, "but I think it's very straightforward."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Director Rhonda Lahm poses next to a design for the the state’s new standard license plate at a news conference, Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at the Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. State law requires the DMV to issue a new design every six years. The department expects to create about 5.2 million of the new plates between 2017 and 2022. (AP Photo/Anna Gronewold)
Unless there’s a change of heart, Nebraska’s new license plate will debut on bumpers in January. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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