Rochester Can Now Vote on Mayo Clinic Crane Names

If there’s one thing Minnesotans absolutely love, it’s naming things.

Snowplows, animals at the zoo, boats… honestly, if it exists, there’s probably a contest somewhere to give it a clever name. And, we absolutely understand the assignment, only every time!

So when Mayo Clinic asked the Rochester community to help name the giant construction cranes popping up all over in the downtown area, people definitely delivered.

ICYMI: Rochester's Winning Snow Plow Name is Officially Here

The very first “Name the Crane” contest brought in nearly 2,000 submissions, and after sorting through all those creative ideas, a final list of names has officially been announced.

And yes… some of them are very Minnesota. Some lean heavily into the medical theme, which totally makes sense. Others feel very Rochester.

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Names like ICU Up There and Crane-adian Goose made the list. My personal favorite though? Purple Crane. Hands down. I know you're singing it now too - lol!

If you’ve driven anywhere near downtown Rochester lately, you’ve probably noticed the cranes. Construction is going to be part of the infrastructure for the next few years, so we might as well have fun and give those cranes a name. In total, 13 cranes will be part of Mayo Clinic's massive Bold. Forward. Unbound. expansion.

Voting is officially open through Monday, March 30th, and the winning crane names will be announced later this spring.

There’s also a special category for the kiddos! Local students will name three of the cranes, with finalists that include: Thomas the Crane, Crane-ium, Dr. Crane, Crane-a-saurus Rex, and Captain Hook.