There are few things the state government can do to display the best in its state. The state fair is one opportunity. The welcome sign at the border is another.

But probably the best way to promote a state is through its license plates.

A license plate is a traveling promotion of any state. That piece of colored metal attached to a moving vehicle tells the public about the highlights or history of a particular area. It can even tell you a little about the person driving the car.

When looking at license plates, I never really think about the effort put into the design. I never really think about the meaning of the illustration. I rarely even notice it.

But controversy about one plate in particular has the nation looking at license plates more critically.

And it’s all about one design. A rather explosive new design which is gaining national attention for Nevada.

Simply put, the tag has an image of a nuclear blast, Albert Einstein’s formula for the theory of relativity, nucleus-and-atom logo for atomic energy and says “Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation.”

The design has been approved for sale by the Department of Motor Vehicles and hundreds of residents have already requested the plate. Profits from the sales would go toward the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation.

The foundation wants to have a memorial site for the 100,000 workers who helped the nation’s nuclear arsenal in Nevada and the more than 800 workers who become ill because of their work.

Basically it’s a license tag to help us remember daily about the importance of the nuclear bomb. And remember it while driving their cars to work, soccer practice or the movies.

I’m not arguing that the design is not attractive or well-constructed. But it was done in poor taste.

This is a state that has officials fighting to not have nuclear waste dumped on their land. Now they want to celebrate the testing of the nuclear bomb in their state. This is certainly a strange situation.

So what kind of promotion should be allowed on license plates? What kind of historical accomplishments need to be presented on a car? This isn’t one of them.

Nevada Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus supports the license plate.

“This is an important part of Nevada history, national and international history,” Titus said. “I think Nevadans think testing was patriotic. It was done for the good of the country during the Cold War.”

Even though it’s important to remember the creation of the nuclear bomb, it’s not an idea that can be communicated on a license plate. Or even should have the option to be on plates.

Nevada officials should have known better than to develop these toxic license plates. They could have learned a lesson from the king of license plate pride – Florida.

If any of you have driven through Florida, you know what I mean. When I drove to Fort Lauderdale for spring break with my friends in March, every car in Florida had a different license plate. There was the “Save the Dolphins” plate, “Support Florida Public Schools” plate, and “Girl Scouts Forever” plates. And this year the Florida Panther license plate is the best-selling specialty tag for the second year in a row instead of the “Save the Manatee” plate, a past favorite.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said drivers spent more than $23 million on 51 specialty license plates in the past year.

One of the largest issues with license plates arose with Florida’s “Choose Life” license plate.

The National Organization for Women attempted to convince a judge that the “Choose Life” yellow tags should be outlawed because it was an unconstitutional breach of church-state separation and intimidating to people who support abortion rights. The judge rightfully dismissed the case.

Even though an anti-abortion license plate is a dumb way to express a person’s religious viewpoints, it doesn’t intimidate pro-abortion people. I can’t believe when a woman is considering getting an abortion, she would let a license plate on a VW Bug with a Jesus fish influence her decision.

All of this talk about pro-abortion, nuclear bomb support and environmental discussion has lead me to one conclusion – specialty license plates need to hit the road.

I’m tired of reading your political, environment or historical viewpoints from the back of the car. It’s not a bumper sticker. It’s an identification needed for law enforcement. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Michelle Kann is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Garnavillo. She is the newsroom managing editor of the Daily.