• Source: Flag of Minnesota

The state flag of the U.S. state of Minnesota consists of a dark blue field representing the night sky and the state's shape, an eight-pointed star representing the North Star, and a bright blue field representing the state's abundant waters; the star is based on one prominently featured in the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda.
Since its inception in 1893, the flag of Minnesota has had four official designs. Of these, the first three included a seal depicting a farmer plowing land while a Native American rides past on horseback. Initially created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the first flag featured a white obverse side with the state seal surrounded by moccasin flowers, while the reverse was solid blue. The design incorporated significant dates and the state motto, "L'Étoile du Nord." The flag was modified with a major redesign in 1957 that standardized the color to royal blue on both sides, and simplified the central design for cost-effectiveness and durability.
In 1983, it underwent another redesign to update the state seal and lighten the blue field. This version of the flag retained the circular arrangement of stars and the state's name but faced criticism over its complexity, similarity to other state flags, and its depiction of Minnesota's history. These criticisms, particularly concerns about the depiction of Native Americans and compliance with vexillological standards, led to calls for a redesign.
In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature established the State Emblems Redesign Commission to propose new designs for the state flag and seal. After extensive public input and deliberation, the commission selected the current flag design in December 2023. This new design was officially adopted on May 11, 2024. The flag has been praised by vexillologists for its simplicity and distinctiveness. It has been criticized for a perceived similarity to the flag of Somalia and for its plainness, and it faced opposition from rural counties. This flag change occurred amid a series of other American states changing their flags.




Design and use






= Statute

=
Minnesota statute 1.141 states that "The design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission... is adopted as the official state flag." The text of the law defers the details of the current flag's appearance and design to the Commission's report, which was dated January 1, 2024.




= Display and use

=
The flag is to be flown over the Minnesota State Capitol from sunrise to sunset. When the flag is folded for storage, it should be folded in the same way as the national flag. When folding the flag for presentation or display, it must be folded lengthwise four times, then each side must be folded down. The ends below the triangle must be folded in a complex way to form a triangle that is then tucked into the upper triangle. Instructions for folding the 1983 State Flag, developed by members of the Minnesota National Guard, were so detailed as to be confusing to some.




= Geometry and colors

=
The flag has an aspect ratio of 3:5. The shape of the flag's dark blue region represents the shape of the state of Minnesota itself. The flag's white star is a regular octagram, having the Schläfli symbol {8/3}; the floor of the rotunda in the Minnesota State Capitol has an identical octagram design. The State Emblems Redesign Commission's report also contains an official construction sheet for the flag.
The flag uses three colors: dark blue, light blue, and white. Respectively, they represent the night sky, the waters of Minnesota, and Polaris, the North Star. The State Emblems Redesign Commission's report provided technical specifications for the flag's colors, alternately in the distinct Web color, CMYK and Pantone systems:




= Desecration

=
Mutilating, defiling, or casting contempt upon the flag, attaching any design to the flag, or using the flag for advertising are misdemeanor offenses under State Statute 609.40, excepting flags on written or printed documents. However, following the 1990 Supreme Court ruling United States v. Eichman, enforcement of this law has been deemed unconstitutional.




History






= 1893 flag

=

In 1891, the Minnesota legislature voted to sponsor an exhibition at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and in response then governor William Rush Merriam appointed a board to supervise the preparations. The board comprised only men, but preparations specific to the showcasing of "women's work" were passed off to an all-women group of volunteers known as the Women's Auxiliary Board. Minnesota had no official flag at that time, and the Auxiliary Board formed a six-person committee to design a flag. The committee held a contest to design the flag, and 200 entries were submitted. In February 1893, Amelia Hyde Center was announced the winner and received $15 (equivalent to $509 in 2023) for her winning design. The Board then successfully petitioned the legislature to officially adopt the design as the state flag.
Center's design was white on one side and bright blue on the other. In the center of the white obverse was the state seal wreathed in white moccasin flowers overlaying a ring of blue. The seal depicted a farmer using a plow while a Native American figure on horseback rides to the west. A red ribbon across the seal bore a motto, L'Étoile du Nord (in French, "The Star of the North"). The years 1819 (establishment of Fort Snelling), 1858 (statehood), and 1893 (adoption of the flag) appeared in gold around the seal. "Minnesota" was written in gold under the seal, and 19 gold stars, representing the fact that Minnesota was the 19th state to be admitted after the original 13 states, were arranged in clusters to form the five points of a star. Historians have noted the design was likely influenced by various flags used by Minnesota's infantry regiments during the Civil War, many of which consisted of a blue field emblazoned with either an American eagle or the state seal with a scroll.
The first flag was made of silk and was embroidered by Pauline and Thomane Fjelde, who won a gold medal for their creation. The flag was adopted on April 4, 1893.
While the reverse of the official design was a solid blue field, some examples of the flag, particularly those mass produced in the twentieth century, featured the seal design on that side as well.




= 1957 flag

=

The flag was redesigned in 1957 in advance of the 1958 state centennial. Most significantly, the field of both the obverse (formerly white) and the reverse (formerly bright blue) were made royal blue; the unification allowed flags to be produced from a single piece of cloth, reducing manufacturing costs and making the flag more durable in high winds. Separately, the white lady's-slippers depicted in the original were replaced with the pink-and-white lady's-slipper native to Minnesota.
The central design featured three concentric circular fields. The innermost field was filled with a simplified version of the state seal. Around the seal was a ring of blue ornamented with a wreath of pink-and-white lady's-slippers and a red ribbon, upon which are written the years 1819 and 1893 (for the establishment of Fort Snelling and the first Minnesota flag, respectively). At the top of the blue ring the year 1858 is set in gold. Around the blue ring is a white ring upon which 19 stars form five radially arrayed groups. Each group contained four stars except for the top-center group, which had two stars of standard size and one larger than the rest, representing the North Star. The number 19 was chosen to symbolize the fact that Minnesota was the 19th state to enter the Union after the original 13. The larger star at the top symbolized the North Star. Between the bottom two groups, the state's name was set in red. Both the blue ring and the white ring were bordered with gold.

In 1957, another flag, designed by former adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard Joseph Nelson, was proposed and endorsed by Rep. John Tracy Anderson. It depicts 19 stars forming the shape of a larger star, inside a vertical triband of red on the left, white in the center, and blue on the right.




= 1983 flag

=

In 1983, the seal was redrawn, and the color field was lightened from a royal blue to a medium blue; the shade could vary in different flag makers' designs.
The flag was rectangular and featured a design emblazoned in the center of a field of blue. According to statute, the flag was bordered with gold and finished with gold fringe, but this was rarely used and more common on indoor flags.
Several changes were also made to the seal in this year. The Native American figure was turned to face farther south, more towards the farmer. Also, the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls were added to the seal to note the importance of these resources in transportation, industry, and the settling of the state. Beyond the falls on the seal, the state added three pine trees representing the state tree (the Norway pine) and the three pine regions of the state: the St. Croix, Mississippi, and Lake Superior. Around the seal, the flag still showed three notable years in Minnesota history (1819, 1858, and 1893), the pink-and-white lady's slipper, and 19 stars placed the same as in 1957.



Criticism of the 1983 flag


The 1983 revision of the flag came under growing criticism. Longstanding frustration with its illegibility, similarity to other state flags, and failure to comply with vexillological best practices. This was joined by concerns that the image depicted in the seal offered a negationist view of Minnesota's settlement by Europeans that concealed the violence committed against Indigenous peoples.




= Proposed North Star Flag

=

The North Star Flag design was created in 1989 by Lee Herold and Reverend William Becker. The flag has the colors of green, representing forests, white, representing winter, and blue, representing water. A yellow star in the top left represents the North Star and the state's motto, L'Étoile du Nord.
Herold had opposed the official state flag since its creation when he was in high school. In 1995, he left his career as an accountant and opened a flag store, Herold Flags, in Rochester, Minnesota. He presented the proposal to state legislators in 1989, supported by Republican representative Gil Gutknecht. However, the North Star Flag design was never officially adopted by the state.




= 2024 flag

=



2023 Redesign Commission

On March 22, 2022, two Democratic-Farmer-Labor members of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Mike Freiberg and Peter Fischer, introduced a bill to redesign the state's flag and seal. Fischer began supporting a flag redesign in 2017 after a group of high school students raised the issue to him. The law outlines specific guidelines for the redesign, stipulating that the new designs "must accurately and respectfully reflect Minnesota's shared history, resources, and diverse cultural communities" and that symbols representing only a single community or person are prohibited. It was proposed as part of a state budget bill and was opposed by Republican representatives, who viewed it as a low priority.
In May 2023, as a part of the annual state budget, the Minnesota Legislature established the State Emblems Redesign Commission, tasked with proposing new designs for Minnesota's flag and seal. The legislation dictates that, barring any contrary legislation, the chosen flag design will be adopted as the state flag on May 11, 2024. The committee has 13 members, including representatives of the Indian Affairs Council, the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage, the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, and the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, along with three members of the general public appointed by Governor Tim Walz. The committee held its first meeting on September 5.
In October 2023, the committee received public input to suggest flag designs. A total of 2,123 flag and 398 seal submissions were received. Common themes included the state bird (the loon), lakes and rivers, and the North Star. More diverse entries included a photograph of a dog, a photograph of a wooden floor, national flags and imitations of them such as those of the Soviet Union, psychedelic monkey drawings, and a design depicting a loon shooting lasers from its eyes similar to the Laser Kiwi flag proposed during the 2015–2016 New Zealand flag referendums. Several entries were just unchanged images of the existing flag of Minnesota.
On November 21, 2023, the commission met in the Minnesota Senate Building to review the selections. Despite having planned to select five flag designs, the group chose six finalists. All the finalists featured a star motif, the colors blue and white; none featured the loon, which the committee believed represented only part of Minnesota. Herold attended the hearing, but his North Star Flag design was not a finalist. On December 13, the number of flags was narrowed to three, F2100, F944, and F1953.

Finalists selected by the commission

























At the time of the redesign, multiple American states were considering changing their flags. Utah had replaced its flag to be more distinctive the prior year, and Mississippi had replaced its flag in 2021.



Final design

On December 15, 2023, the committee decided that the final flag would be a variant of F1953, eliminating F2100 and F944. By December 19, 2023, after much deliberation on specific design aspects, the commission had settled on five variations of F1953 to be the subject of the final vote.




















A2 was selected by the commission as the finalized design on December 19, 2023, with 11 out of 12 votes (B2 having received 1 vote). Thus, the new state flag consisted of an all light-blue banner with a simplified shape of Minnesota on the hoist in dark blue and a simplified eight-pointed star in the center of the shape. According to the commission, the eight-pointed star is a design used by indigenous and immigrant cultures, forms the shape of the letter M, and matches a design on the floor of the Capitol's rotunda that points north.
The flag officially became the new state flag on May 11, 2024.



Reception

Initial responses to the final design included both praise and criticism for its simplicity, as well as praise for its symbolism. Ted Kaye of the North American Vexillological Association called the new design "outstanding" and said that it has a place in the top 10 flags of the U.S. A local news station poll found that just 23% of Minnesota voters supported switching to the new flag, while 21% supported replacing the flag with a different design and 49% wished to keep the existing flag.
Democratic leaders praised the community input and the removal of the old flag's offensive imagery as successes. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who did not fly the former flag in protest of its depictions of Indigenous people, celebrated it as an "upgrade" that allows it to represent every Minnesotan.
Right-wing critics claimed the flag was similar to the flag of Somalia or of the Somali region of Puntland. Officials said the resemblance was a coincidence, citing the Minnesota-specific meaning behind the colors and symbolism. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon further countered these claims, noting similarities in Iowa's flag to France's and Texas' flag to Chile's.
Several rural counties, including Crow Wing, Houston, McLeod, Nobles, Becker, Mower, and Brown, passed resolutions opposing the flag in general, or the process by which the new flag design was chosen. In early March 2024, Republican state legislators announced plans to introduce a series of bills that would put the flag design to a public vote, but the bills did not come up for a vote during the 2024 legislative session.




See also



List of Minnesota state symbols




References






External links



The Minnesota Flag Statute
"The Origin of the Minnesota State Flag" on the Minnesota government website
North Star Flag website
"The New Official Flag and Great Seal: Report of the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission to the Minnesota Legislature and Governor"

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