Minnesota Has A New State Flag And State Seal – What Do You Think?

Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the North Star State, the Land of Sky Blue Waters. Known by many names, our state has long lacked cohesive emblems that accurately represent it. After many years of debate and handwringing, Minnesota appointed a commission to redesign its state flag and state seal. After accepting submissions from the public and winnowing down the selections, in December 2023, the State Emblems Redesign Commission approved designs for a new Minnesota state flag and state seal. And many Minnesotans had opinions about the results.

Minnesota is widely known for its thousands of lakes and broad expanses of hardwood and boreal forests.

We also have a deep agricultural, mining, and land use heritage that exemplifies our belief in hard work.

These are things that the original designers of our state flag and seal hoped to evoke.

The original designers also attempted to pay homage to the deep-seated Native cultures that have been on this land for centuries.

As the North Star State, the French phrase, “L’Etoille Du Nord” was also included on the original state flag and seal. All of these things were presented to the redesign committee along with the problematic ways in which these elements were incorporated into the long-standing state emblems.

The commission asked the public for input, and they received a lot of it.

Much of the input involved rallied for inclusion of the state bird, the common loon, in the new emblems.

Some of the more problematic aspects of the original design was its overall busy-ness and the way in which it attempted to acknowledge Native culture.

The approved design of the new state seal is simpler, but it still incorporates many of the original elements - as well as a loon.

The Native acknowledgement is also present with the Dakota words “Mni Sóta Makoce” - acknowledging the derivation of the name Minnesota - on the seal.

The "old" flag was simply the seal, on a yellow, five-pointed star, in a white circle with the word "Minnesota" - all on a blue field.

The new flag design is much simpler and more modern. One of the goals was to be simple enough for a child to draw. It certainly meets that goal.

The final design incorporates a stylized outline of Minnesota in a deep blue, with an eight-pointed North Star in its center. The remainder of the flag is a solid, lighter blue representing the state’s sky and water - “the land of sky blue waters” or the land where the water reflects the clouds: Mni Sóta Makoce.

As with just about anything these days, the new designs have generated controversy for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from the lack of a loon on the flag to only acknowledging the Dakota culture on the seal. The new designs will go before the Legislature for approval in the upcoming session, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the final-final designs end up looking like. What do you think of the new Minnesota state flag and seal designs? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re interested in picking up one of the new flag designs - or one of the rejected finalists - you can already find them on Etsy!