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LINCOLN — Nebraska’s iconic Sower will grace Nebraska’s next license plate — but critics say the image is bland at best and bordering on erotic at worst.

The new standard plate features the Sower, which is a statue atop the State Capitol, pulling grain from a pouch and throwing it.

The plate also has a navy blue stripe, “Nebraska” in gold lettering, and the years 1867 and 2017, a nod to Nebraska’s 150th birthday next year.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said the plate incorporates “a lot of things that are unique to Nebraska.” The Sower represents agriculture, and the navy and gold colors match the Nebraska state flag.

But people took to the Internet to complain that the design is too boring, uses colors too closely associated with University of Michigan or is too obscure for people outside of the state to grasp.

Some even went so far as to suggest that the Sower image has a sexual connotation, saying it appears that he is sowing a different kind of seed.

“I know what it is supposed to be,” wrote one commenter, “but it looks like a creepy guy pulling open his pants.”