Minnesota Picks New Flag

UPDATE Dec 19, 2023 6:39 PM CST

Minnesota's new state flag should feature an eight-pointed North Star against a dark blue background shaped like the state, with a solid light blue field at the right, a special commission decided Tuesday as it picked a replacement for an older design that many Native Americans considered offensive. The State Emblems Redesign Commission chose the final version on an 11-1 vote after finalizing a new state seal that depicts a loon, the state bird, the AP reports. Unless the Legislature rejects them, the new flag and seal will automatically become official April 1, 2024, when Minnesota observes Statehood Day. The new flag is a revised version of a design submitted by Andrew Prekker, 24, who said he was grateful and amazed for the "rare privilege" of being able to contribute to state history.

Nov 30, 2023 3:46 AM CST

Minnesota is in the end stages of replacing its state flag, which many consider offensive to Native Americans. The State Emblems Redesign Commission has opened up a public comment period on the final six contenders for the new flag, none of which feature anything close to the current design involving settlers farming Minnesota land while a Native American apparently rides off into the sunset. See the finalists, plus the current state flag, in our gallery; you can also view the final contenders for the new state seal on the commission's website.

MPR News has been speaking with some of the designers of the finalist flag designs; one of them says he initially started messing around with possible new flag designs before the contest was even launched. (See interviews with three more of them here.) As the Smithsonian magazine reports, not all of the more than 2,600 submissions were entirely serious; one submission for the new state seal, for example, involved a depiction of a Minnesota "hotdish" (Minnesota's word for a one-dish meal similar to a casserole; read all about it here) in the middle of the seal. Even children submitted designs, as did, apparently, dog lovers. The goal is for the new designs to be unveiled on Minnesota's Statehood Day, May 11, 2024. (More Minnesota stories.)