Minnesota set to adopt new state flag

Minnesota officially settled on a new design for the state flag following months of intense debate and thousands of public submissions.

The flag, approved by the State Emblems Redesign Commission, was chosen from thousands of submissions. The commission met Tuesday to make its final adjustments to the design.

The new design comes after the previous one was criticized for being offensive toward Native Americans. Part of the flag featured a Native American riding off into the sunset while a white settler plows his field.

The final design includes an eight-point North Star and a light blue block to the other side. It represents the state’s official motto, “L’Étoile du Nord,” which translates from French to “The Star of the North.” Minnesota is the only state with a motto in French.

The design for the basis of the flag, created by a citizen from Luverne, was initially white, green and blue, which the designer said represented snow, nature and agriculture, and water, respectively. The design also included the state’s shape as well as the white North Star.

While some residents were unhappy a loon was not part of the final design, the commission explained that more designs included the North Star, so it decided to feature that symbol, according to CBS News.

Others, including Two Republican legislators who served as nonvoting members of the commission, criticized the pace of the process, according to Star Tribune.

“This process should have taken a lot longer, we should have taken more public testimony, we should have heard from more Minnesotans,” state Rep. Bjorn Olson (R), said according to the Tribune.

They reportedly plan to introduce legislation that puts the final design to the public’s vote. However, there are still questions surrounding whether that action is constitutional.

Commission Chair Luis Fitch said in his speech throwing support behind the design that the state “needed to focus on one thing to make us different,” according to the Star Tribune.

He added that he saw the headwaters of the Mississippi River in the blue color.

“Here’s the beauty: It still says Minnesota in two ways — in the shape and in the star,” he said, according to local NBC affiliate KARE11.

“Minnesota is water, Minnesota is rivers. Minnesota is this star. Here’s the shape of Minnesota. We don’t have to write ‘Minnesota’ anymore. This is Minnesota.”