Minnesota

Minnesota
Country	United States
Flag of Minnesota
Adopted	1957
Score in 2001 NAVA survey	3.13/10 (67th of 72)
New flag selected by committee.
Designer	Andrew Prekker (base design) Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission (final design)
Adopted	By May 11th, 2024
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The flag of the state of Minnesota consists of a medium blue field charged with the state seal. The current flag was adopted in 1957 and the state seal on the flag was modified in 1983.

On the seal, the sun, visible on the western horizon, signifies summer in the northern hemisphere. The horizon's visibility signifies the flat plains covering much of Minnesota. The American Indian on horseback is riding towards the south and represents the American Indian heritage of Minnesota. The Indian's horse and spear and the Pioneer's ax, rifle, and plow represent tools that were used for hunting and labor. The stump symbolizes the importance of the lumber industry in Minnesota's history. The Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls are depicted to note the importance of these resources in transportation and industry. The cultivated ground and the plow symbolize the importance of agriculture in Minnesota. Beyond the falls three pine trees represent the state tree and the three pine regions of Minnesota; the St. Croix, Mississippi, and Lake Superior.

Criticism and calls for redesign

The Minnesota flag has been widely criticized for decades. Flag experts have detracted the flag's design for being unmemorable, indistinguishable from afar, and similar to many state flags. On numerous occasions over a span of several decades, bills have been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature to establish a legislative task force for studying changes to the flag.

A design eschewing the state seal was considered in 1957.

The "North Star Flag"1989.

The North Star Flag

The North Star Flag design was created in 1989 by Lee Herold and Reverend William Becker. Herold presented the proposal to state legislators in 1989, supported by Republican representative Gil Gutknecht.

2023 redesign commission

On March 22, 2022, two Democratic 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.

Finalists selected by the commission

Flag chosen on December 19, created by modifying F1953.

F1953 – Designed by Andrew Prekker, selected as the basis of the final design on December 15.

F2100 – Designed by John Muller, eliminated on December 15.

F944 – The "Mirror of the Sky Flag", designed by Todd and Peter Pitman, eliminated on December 15.

F29 – The "L'Étoile du Nord Flag", designed by Brandon Hundt, eliminated on December 13.

F1154 – Designed by Ross Bruggink, eliminated on December 13.

F1435 – Designed by Sarah Agaton Howes, eliminated on December 13.

Historical Flags

Flag of Minnesota, 1893–1957 (obverse).

Flag of Minnesota, 1893–1957 (reverse).

Flag of Minnesota, 1957–1983.

Proposals for a New Flag of Minnesota

MN Flag Proposal "Becker and Herold North Star Flag" [1]

MN Flag Proposal "Jack Expo"

Flag Proposal "Tibbetts #1"

Flag Proposal "Tibbetts #2"

MN Flag Proposal "rob64"

MN Flag Proposal "Deepseadivermann"

The True North Star by Jon C. Good / AGoodProduction Oct 2016 Inspired by a snowflake, a quilt, a scandinavian sweater and our State Capitol Star Seal in the floor. I placed the North Star in the middle of the snowflake, which is created by 8 M's and is the same shape as the Star Seal on the floor of our capitol.

MN Flag Proposal: Blue=rivers/lakes (current flag shade of blue). Found in state name "water" & "sky-tinted". Center forms a snowflake with 8 M's (like capitol rotunda). Green=trees, growth and prosperity. White=snow. Gold=the North Star (our nickname). Jon C. Good Sept 22

MN Flag Proposal "Marcel Stratton"

MN Flag Proposal "Steve Lovelace"

Minnesota flag proposal by Steve Lovelace, modified by Hans. Sep 2015. (details)

Minnesota flag proposal by Hans. Based on Steve Lovelace's flag. Aug 2016. (details)

MN Flag Proposal "JD Makepeace"

MN Flag Proposal "RRJ"

MN Flag Proposal "jakeasy"

MN Flag Proposal "FederalRepublic"

665 designs in this contest and 290 votes taken in 2 days. Winner is by Jon Good as per the copy on this page.

L’etoile du Nord-The North Star by Newresnow

MN Flag Proposal by Kermitdefrog

MN Flag Proposal "BigRed618"

Minnesota State Flag Symplistic Proposal. “Minne” means water, which flows throughout the state — this is the blue. “Star of the North” is the state motto, and twin cities sit on either side of the main star. By Ed Mitchell. 2013.

Updated Minnesota state flag proposal. Minnesota is nicknamed the “North Star State” and is also known as “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The North Star is sitting in the middle of a blue circle which represents the lakes. By Ed Mitchell. 2016.

Becker and Herold Flag with Jon C Good Real North Star, Scandinavian Snowflake

MN flag proposal by 5thEye

"Thousand Lakes" flag - Minnesota proposal by James Dignan, October 2015

Design places the north Star high over the "seal" which displays a little like the North Star Flag - the lower wave in red stands for the removed MINNESOTA text. The purple in the fly is for the states surrigate color. Design Rotten Ali.

MN flag proposal by Fabio Schubert

This is a slightly modified version of a Minnesota state flag design created by "NJI Media." Posted by Ken Morton.

Minnesota state flag proposed by Ken Morton. A nordic cross in red, white and blue, what could be simpler?

Minnesota 1 - Star of the North - My own version of a design by "NJI Media." Posted by Ken Morton.

Minnesota 2 - Star of the North - Posted by Ken Morton.

Minnesota 3 - Star of the North - Posted by Ken Morton.

By SimplisticFlags. December 2018. (details)

MN Flag Proposal "apollohawkridge"

Updates to designs by Steve Lovelace and Hans. White cross is the Nordic cross reflecting the state’s Scandinavian heritage. The three light blue sections represent (in clockwise order) Lake Superior, the Mississippi River, and the St. Croix River. The gold star is the North Star. The purple canton represents the purple northern night sky as well as the cultural heritage of the state. Posted by Preston Knapp [2]

Proposal "simplified" for a flag for Minnesota, reusing the colors and overall design of the old flag, but leaving out all the details. By Qaz Dec 2019 (details)

The Minnesota North Star Cross is a Nordic Cross flag as a homage to the many Nordic people who settled the state. The background is a dark blue color to symbolize the night sky and is the same blue color as in the US flag. The green represents the fertile land while the white cross in the middle the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The Star of the North is placed prominently in the top left corner.

Minnesota flag redesign 1 by EuropeanV.

Minnesota flag redesign 2 by EuropeanV.

Minnesota flag redesign 3 by EuropeanV.

My late-to-the-party entry. A blue-white-and-green tricolor with an eight-pointed North Star in the canton and a Minnesota pale.

Same as previous but with purple (for Prince and the Vikings) and two shades of blue (representing the lakes and the sky).