Sales of Minnesota Blackout Plates Approach 50,000 in 3 Months

We're not in the path of totality for the solar eclipse, but Minnesotans are still loving blackouts.

In just three months since their launch, nearly 50,000 of the special Minnesota "blackout" license plates have been sold.

Blackout Plates Are a Big Hit with Minnesotans

The Minnesota Driver and Vehicles Services predicted that the plates would be popular, and still think that they've sold less than a third of the plates that'll be sold this year alone. By the end of the year, DVS predicts that 160,000 plates will be sold, making the blackout plates the state's most-popular specialty license plates.

Other New Designs Are Available

While the blackout plates are taking up most of the oxygen, Minnesota Driver and Vehicles Services released seven other new designs, five of them that celebrate professional Minnesota sports (comments are tongue-in-cheek):

Minnesota Lynx (which people forget are fantastic plates)
Minnesota Wild (which are popular but fall apart in the end)
Minnesota Timberwolves (which were the laughing stock of all the plates for decades)
Minnesota Vikings (which always seem to lean wide right or wide left when it matters)
Minnesota Twins (which are extremely cheap despite getting a new stadium)

New plates that will be mentioned without snarky commentary:

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office plates
Lions Club International plates

How Much Does a Minnesota Specialty License Plate Cost?

Each specialty plate costs $15.50, plus an additional minimum annual contribution. For example: $25 for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office plates, which benefit the Gaagige-Mikwendaagoziwag Reward Account.

The sports teams (yes, even the Twins) and the Lions Club require a minimum annual contribution, with the money raised going towards charitable foundations that are set up by each organization.

The blackout plates and sports teams minimal annual contribution is $30. The money for the blackout plates goes back to the DVS, which is self-funded.