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Minnesota is flying a brand-new flag over its state capitol, and the switch from the historic design to the newly curated artistic change has made waves with critics of the seemingly radical evolution.
After sifting through thousands of submissions last fall, the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission greenlit the new flag, which formerly included images hearkening back to the state’s founding: farmers, pioneers, Native Americans, and agriculture.
Here is the original state flag:
The new flag has just three colors: two shades of blue and a single, eight-pointed star. The star is supposedly an ode to Minnesota’s nickname, “The North Star State.”
However, redesign commission member Luis Fitch offered his explanation of the minimalistic flag in a speech supporting the final design.
Per CBS News, he explained, “You go back in history, White people from Europe came here because of the Mississippi River. If we go back to history, I’m assuming because I’m not a historian, American Indians chose this land [in] part because of the Mississippi. So the way I’m looking at it right now, why do I see the Mississippi River pointing up to the North Star? And that’s it. For me, that’s the story.”
The flag was designed by Andrew Prekker, who stated that the new design was meant to be “inclusive to all people in Minnesota, especially our Indigenous communities and tribal nations.”
Here is the new flag:
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon released a statement commemorating the new flag’s official unfurling, which accompanied a redesign of the state’s official seal.
He offered, “The new flag and seal reflect all Minnesotans and showcase the features of our state that we can all recognize – the water, the land, the North Star, and of course – the loon. We can all unite around these common images that help our state stand apart from the rest.”
Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that he believed the historic Minnesota state flag was “problematic” and that they had evolved into a “more diverse state and I think it’s [the new flag] more reflective of that.”
Ultimately, Minnesota’s new tri-colored state flag is objectively a far less intricate representation of its history than the original flag, which, in addition to its artwork, featured the French phrase, “L’etoile du Nord,” or “Star of the North.”
State natives have reacted to the news of their flag switchover by buying as many old flags as they can. KNSI Radio reported in December 2023 that Minnesota state flags and flagpoles were selling like hotcakes ahead of the impending switchover.
Tim Coil, owner of “Coil’s Flags and Flagpoles” in St. Cloud, Minnesota, told the outlet, “I’ve had a great show of people coming in, and they’re not just buying one flag. Most people are buying three or four flags because they want to have inventory at home so they can still fly the old (current) Minnesota flag because they don’t like the design of the new one.”
