Flag of Minnesota
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox flag
The state flag of the U.S. state of Minnesota was adopted on May 11, 2024. It features a dark blue field representing the night sky and the state's shape, an eight-pointed star symbolizing the North Star, and a light blue field representing the state's abundant waters; the star is based on one prominently featured in the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda.
Minnesota's flag has undergone several redesigns since its first official adoption in 1893. Earlier versions incorporated the then state seal, which included imagery considered controversial to some. Criticism over the flag's complexity and depiction of Indigenous peoples prompted calls for change.<ref name="2020 opinion2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="News Tribune 2022"/><ref name="Pioneers" /> In response, the Minnesota Legislature established the State Emblems Redesign Commission in 2023 to propose new designs.
The 2024 redesign followed public input and was part of a broader trend among U.S. states modernizing their flags.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new flag has received both praise for its clarity and symbolism and criticism over its simplicity and perceived political motivations.<ref name="ted kaye"/>
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."<ref name="flag statute">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="report">Template:Cite web</ref> The report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission described the design as the following: Template:Blockquote The report also features imagery and a construction sheet, more precisely designating the flag's colors and appearance.
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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:<ref name="report" />
| Name | RGB, or Web color | CMYK | Pantone | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web color | R | G | B | Hex code | C | M | Y | K | ||
| White | 255 | 255 | 255 | Template:Code | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | White | |
| Night Sky Blue | 0 | 45 | 93 | Template:Code | 100 | 86 | 35 | 31 | 648 | |
| Water Blue | 82 | 201 | 232 | Template:Code | 59 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 305 | |
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.<ref name="flag statute" />
Mutilating, defiling, or casting contempt upon the flag, attaching any design to the flag, or using the flag for advertising were misdemeanor offenses under State Statute 609.40, excepting flags on written or printed documents.<ref name="flag statute" /> However, following the 1990 Supreme Court ruling United States v. Eichman, enforcement of this law has been deemed unconstitutional.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Folding history
The flag of Minnesota did not have an official folding technique until 2010, when instructions for folding the 1983 State Flag for storage and display were codified in law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The folding for storage technique was done in the same manner as the U.S. flag, but the display technique was developed by members of the Minnesota National Guard, and was so detailed that it was confusing to some.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The original code (which was repealed in 2024 with the adoption of the new state flag) read: Template:Blockquote
History
1893 flag
For the first 35 years of statehood, Minnesota had no official state flag. That changed with preparations for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where each state was invited to showcase its identity and achievements. In 1891, the Minnesota legislature voted to sponsor an exhibit at the fair, and then Governor William Rush Merriam appointed an all-male board to oversee the state's participation. Responsibility for organizing the display of "women’s work", however, fell to the Women's Auxiliary Board, a group of female volunteers.
Recognizing the need for a visual symbol to represent Minnesota, the Auxiliary Board initiated the creation of the state’s first official flag. A six-woman committee, led by Mrs. Franklyn L. Greenleaf, launched a public design contest in 1892 that drew more than 200 entries. In February 1893, they selected a design by Amelia Hyde Center, a Minneapolis artist and leatherworker. She received a $15 prize (Template:Inflation) for her winning entry.<ref name="flag origin">Template:Cite web</ref>
With support from the Auxiliary Board, the Minnesota legislature passed an act on April 4, 1893, officially adopting Center’s design as the first state flag of Minnesota.<ref name="design-23-minnpost">Template:Cite news</ref>
The first physical version of the flag, made of silk, was embroidered by sisters Pauline and Thomane Fjelde. Their workmanship earned a gold medal at the fair where it was displayed.<ref name="Pioneers">Template:Cite web</ref>
Center's design was white on the obverse side and blue on the reverse. At the center of both sides was the state seal encircled by a white moccasin flowers (a flower indigenous to Minnesota) overlaying a blue disc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The seal depicted a scene including a farmer plowing while a Native American on horseback rides westward. A red ribbon across the seal bore the motto, Template:Lang (in French, "The Star of the North"). The years 1819 (Fort Snelling's founding), 1858 (statehood), and 1893 (flag adoption) appeared in gold around the seal. Below it, "Minnesota" was written in gold. Surrounding the seal were 19 gold stars arranged in clusters forming a five-pointed-star, symbolizing Minnesota as the 19th state admitted to the union after the original 13.
Historians suggest the design drew inspiration from Minnesota infantry flags used during the Civil War, many of which consisted of a blue field with the state seal or an American eagle and a scroll. Similar banners were standard issue for all U.S. infantry regiments from 1890 to 1904.<ref name="govser">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="flag origin" />
-
The 13th Minnesota Infantry Regimental flag from 1898. -
The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regimental flag. -
The 4th Minnesota Infantry Regimental flag. -
The 5th Minnesota Infantry Regimental flag.
1957 flag
The Minnesota state flag was redesigned in 1957 in anticipation of the state's centennial in 1958. As part of broader efforts to commemorate 100 years of statehood, the legislature saw an opportunity to modernize the flag’s appearance and improve its practicality. The original flag’s two-sided design with a white obverse and blue reverse was expensive to manufacture and prone to fraying in high winds. To address these concerns, the new version featured a uniform design and blue field on both sides, allowing for a single-layer, more durable construction that was also more cost-effective to produce.<ref name="Pioneers" /><ref name="govser" />
The floral elements were also updated for botanical accuracy. The original depiction of moccasin flowers was replaced with pink-and-white lady's-slippers, the official state flower of Minnesota.<ref name="MNSU">Template:Cite web</ref>
The redesign also simplified the central emblem, which featured three concentric circular fields. At the center was the Seal of Minnesota. Encircling it was a blue ring, adorned with a wreath of pink-and-white lady’s-slippers and a red ribbon bearing the years 1819 and 1893 marking the founding of Fort Snelling and the adoption of Minnesota’s original state flag. The year 1858, denoting Minnesota’s admission to the union, appeared in gold at the top of the ring.
Surrounding this was a white outer ring displaying 19 gold stars arranged in five radial clusters. Four clusters each contained four stars, while the top-center cluster included two stars flanking a larger one, symbolizing the North Star. The number of stars represented Minnesota’s position as the 19th state admitted to the Union after the original 13. Below the seal, between the two lower star clusters, the state’s name appeared in red. Both the blue and white rings were bordered in gold.<ref name="Minn Sec State">Template:Cite web</ref>
1983 flag
In 1983, the flag underwent a redesign that included a redrawing of the seal and a lightening of the blue field from royal blue to a medium blue, though the exact shade varied among manufacturers.<ref name="Pioneers"/> The flag maintained a rectangular shape with the emblem centered on a blue field. By statute, the flag was bordered with gold and finished with gold fringe,<ref name="flag statute" /> although the fringe was rarely seen on outdoor flags, being mostly reserved for indoor versions.Template:Citation needed
Several updates were made to the seal’s imagery. The Indigenous figure was repositioned to face more toward the farmer, emphasizing a changed perspective. The Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls were added, highlighting their historical importance in transportation, industry, and settlement. Behind the falls, three pine trees were included to represent the state tree (the Norway pine) and the three pine regions of the state: the St. Croix, Mississippi, and Lake Superior.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The seal continued to feature three significant years in Minnesota history—1819, 1858, and 1893—along with the pink-and-white lady's slipper and 19 stars arranged as in the 1957 flag.<ref name="flag statute" />
Responses to the 1983 flag
Criticism of the 1983 design steadily grew over the following decades, fueling calls for change. Detractors argued that the flag was overly complex, difficult to distinguish at a distance, and too similar to other state flags that featured blue fields with state seals.<ref name="2001 survey2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Vexillum">Template:Cite journal</ref> Additionally, some critics, including Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, objected to the imagery of the state seal—viewing it as a representation of Manifest Destiny. These concerns, combined with growing public interest in redesigning state flags, eventually led the Minnesota Legislature to establish a redesign commission in 2023.
Notable proposals
Anderson–Nelson Proposal
In 1957, a proposed alternative to Minnesota’s state flag was introduced by Representative John Tracy Anderson in collaboration with Major General Joseph E. Nelson, then Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard and a heraldry enthusiast. The design featured 19 stars arranged to form a larger star, set within a vertical triband of red, white, and blue. Anderson promoted the flag as a stronger alternative to the plain blue flag with the state seal, which had been proposed by a legislative commission that year. Although the proposal gained some attention, it was ultimately rejected by the Minnesota House of Representatives in a 48–23 vote. Nelson supported retaining the original 1893 flag until a more distinctive and symbolic design could be adopted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The North Star Flag
The North Star Flag was created in 1988 by Lee Herold and Reverend William Becker as a proposed alternative to Minnesota's state flag.<ref name="News Tribune 2022">Template:Cite news</ref> Like previous designs of the state flag, it features a yellow star symbolizing the state motto Template:Lang ("The Star of the North"). The design also includes the colors of blue, white, and green representing water, winter, and forests, respectively.
Although never officially adopted, the design gained significant grassroots support. It was presented to the state legislature in 1989 with backing from Republican representative Gil Gutknecht and later won an unofficial design contest in 2001 judged by vexillologists.<ref name="KARE 2022">Template:Cite news</ref> The flag was sold by Herold's Rochester-based flag store and appeared at public events and in media coverage, making it one of the most recognizable unofficial symbols of Minnesota.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Herold continued to advocate for the design in the decades that followed. In 2023, he gave a flag design testimony before the State Emblems Redesign Commission, but the North Star Flag was not selected as a finalist in the redesign process.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
While the final 2024 design does not directly derive from it, the North Star Flag played a notable role in public discourse around flag redesign, helping to sustain interest in replacing the previous state flag.
2023 Redesign Commission
Formation
In April 2021 a student from Wayzata High School contacted State Senator Ann Johnson Stewart to discuss creating a bill to change the state flag. Senator Johnson Stewart agreed and worked with her colleague Senator Mary Kunesh to author the bills HF284 and SF847 to introduce to the 92nd Legislature. The bills outlined the State Emblems Redesign Commission that would later go into effect after the bill's passage several years later. The bills did not advance during the 92nd Legislative session. 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.<ref name="News Tribune 2022" /><ref NAME="KARE 2022"/> 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.<ref name="News Tribune 2022" /> It was proposed as part of a state budget bill and was opposed by Republican representatives, who viewed it as a low priority.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The legislation dictates that, barring any contrary legislation, the chosen flag design will be adopted as the state flag on May 11, 2024.<ref name="MN Revisors Office z013">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The committee held its first meeting on September 5.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Submission phase
In October 2023, the committee opened the floor to public submissions for new flag designs. They received 2,123 flag proposals and 398 seal designs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Common motifs included the state bird (the loon), alongside depictions of lakes, rivers, and the North Star.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> More diverse entries ranged from photographs of dogs and wooden floors to national flags, psychedelic monkey illustrations, and a loon shooting lasers from its eyes, reminiscent of the "Laser Kiwi" flag proposed in New Zealand's 2015-2016 flag referendums.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several submissions were unchanged images of the current Minnesota state flag.
Selection of finalists
On November 21, 2023, the commission convened at the Minnesota Senate Building to review the submissions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although initially intending to select five finalists, six designs were chosen. All featured a star motif and the colors blue and white, while none included the loon, as the committee felt it symbolized only part of Minnesota.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By December 13, the finalists were narrowed to three designs: F1953, F2100, and F944.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Finalists selected by the commission
-
F1953 – Designed by Andrew Prekker, selected as the basis of the final design on December 15<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> -
F2100 – Designed by John Muller, eliminated on December 15<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> -
F944 – The "Mirror of the Sky Flag", designed by Todd and Peter Pitman, eliminated on December 15<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mprnews">Template:Cite web</ref> -
F29 – "Starflake",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> designed by Brandon Hundt, eliminated on December 13<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mprnews" /> -
F1154 – Designed by Ross Bruggink, eliminated on December 13<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> -
F1435 – Designed by Sarah Agaton Howes, eliminated on December 13<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mprnews"/>
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.svg){kind=link}
.svg){kind=link}
.svg){kind=link}
Final design
On December 15, 2023, the committee selected design F1953 as the final flag, eliminating proposals F2100 and F944.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By December 19, after graphic designers Tyler and Jenae Michaletz presented several variations of the finalist designs, the commission narrowed the choices to five variations of F1953 for the final vote.<ref name="minnesotareformer">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>https://www.jenaemichaletz.com/portfolio/minnesota-state-flag</ref>
-
A2 (final design)
-
B2
-
C2
-
D2
-
E2
On December 19, 2023, the commission officially selected design A2 by an 11-to-1 vote, with B2 receiving the sole dissenting vote.<ref name="minnesotareformer"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The new flag officially became Minnesota’s state flag on May 11, 2024, coinciding with the state’s annual Statehood Day celebrations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Response to the 2024 flag
Public reaction to the final design of the 2024 Minnesota state flag was mixed, with many praising its simplicity and symbolism, while others criticized the change.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Flag expert Ted Kaye of the North American Vexillological Association described the design as "outstanding", placing it among the top ten U.S. state flags.<ref name="ted kaye">Template:Cite web</ref> A local news poll, however, found that only 23% of Minnesota voters supported adopting the new flag, while 21% preferred replacing it with a different design and 49% wanted to keep the existing flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Democratic leaders praised the inclusive design process and the removal of controversial imagery from the previous flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who had previously declined to display the old flag due to its depiction of Indigenous people, called the new version an "upgrade" that better represents all Minnesotans.<ref name="walz-responds">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Conservative critics argued that the new flag resembled the flag of Somalia or the flag of Puntland. State officials responded that any resemblance was coincidental and noted the specific meaning of the star and colors in the Minnesota context. Secretary of State Steve Simon pointed out that several U.S. state flags resemble foreign flags, such as Iowa and France, or Texas and Chile.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="x870">Template:Cite web Conservatives also criticized the way the flag was adopted, arguing major changes to the state flag should be decided by voters, like in Illinois or Maine.</ref> <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Several rural Greater Minnesotan counties, including Crow Wing, Houston, McLeod, Nobles, Becker, Mower, and Brown, passed resolutions opposing either the new flag, or the process by which it was chosen. In early 2024, Republican legislators introduced bills seeking to place the new flag on a statewide ballot, but these efforts stalled and did not advance during the legislative session.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
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"
Template:United States topic Template:US state navigation box
- Pages with broken file links
- 2023 establishments in Minnesota
- Blue flags
- Blue and white flags
- Flag controversies in the United States
- Flags introduced in 2024
- Flags of Minnesota
- Flag redesigns in the 21st century
- Flags with stars
- Native American history of Minnesota
- Native Americans in art
- Native American-related controversies
- Culture of Minnesota
- Symbols of Minnesota
- Tricolor flags
- United States state flags