Updated: 01/05/2009 2:41 PM KSTP.com | Print Story
By: Tim Sherno

SHERNO: Putting the 'SHOVE' in SHOVEL

Don't tell my 15 year old son, but, I kind'a enjoying shoveling snow. And this winter I have had plenty of opportunities to enjoy it. 

Artists have their favorite brushes, chefs guard their knives --I have my shovels. A wide shovel for volume jobs... a different shovel for the path the mailman walks. As my dad always said, 'use the right tool for the job.'

The other day we were working on a snow-story in Maple Grove. We had pulled into a truck stop to talk to motorists taking a break from fighting old man winter on the highway. Sitting in the news-car, waiting for drivers to pull up I noticed a man in a bright orange vest with a strange looking device... and he was shoving the snow like a snowplow.  In a few quick easy minutes he cleared the area pictured below.

Wow, right?! He walked one way, flipped his 'hand-plow' over and walked the other way. And in the time it would take me to toss a few shovels full, he was done.  No bending. No lifting. No fuss.

What was this device he was using? I jumped out of the news-car and trotted down the freshly-cleaned sidewalk and asked him about his marvelous machine.

It's a marvel! The blade is at an angle, so when you push it, it edges the snow sideways -just like a snowplow. But the real genius happens when you flip it over --the blade reverses angles. You can shove the snow instead of shovel. Here's a better look.

See the angle! When you flip it, the angle reverses. How cool is that?!

Forgive me if you've had one of these forever.. I have NEVER seen one before and when I do see one I'm gonna buy one. I'll tell you why. Because while I do enjoy shoveling snow --this is has been a very snowy season so far, and it's only January. We have a long way to go.