Minnesota’s ‘Message Monday’ Signs Still Not As Quirky As Iowa’s

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has been trying out some more memorable highway signs recently, but it looks like they're still pretty tame compared to our neighbors to the south.

According to this KARE-11 story, MnDOT has been putting up lighter, not-as-serious messages on those electronic highway message signs throughout the Twin Cities. (And even though we have those same types of signs in Rochester, mainly along Highway-52, I don't think I've seen any 'Message Monday' signs here.)

The story says messages like "Light up a gray day with headlights," or the holiday-themed message that stated, "Best unopened gift: your airbag," have been spotted along various Minnesota highways. The MnDOT officials quoted in the story say the messages are "meaningful, but it in a more light-hearted way."

It's a nice try, but those messages are still pretty tame-- at least compared to the way Iowa is doing them. I posted about Iowa's signs back in the fall of 2015. And some of their messages are actually kind of funny.

One message said, "Get your head out of your apps, drive safely." Then there's the always-popular, "Does your blinker not work or what?" message spotted just outside Des Moines a few years ago.

Either way, they're all designed to break through the monotony of all the regular signs we see-- and take for granted-- everyday. The jury's still out on whether they're effective, though.

I give MnDOT credit for trying-- even if their signs aren't quite as amusing as Iowa's signs.

What do you think?