MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota leaders tasked the state’s residents with helping to reimagine the state’s flag and emblem.
The citizenry has delivered, with designs running the gamut of reverent to just plain ridiculous.
The State Emblems Redesign Commission (SERC) put out the call for submissions throughout the month of October, collecting 2,600 designs in that timeframe.
On Wednesday, the commission unveiled a website featuring 2,123 designs for consideration. Loons, stars, and loons with stars are the common hallmarks.
Eighty-five percent of the submissions were for the flag, and the remaining 15% were for the seal.
Proponents of the change say the main image on the current flag, first flown in 1957, and the seal, adopted in 1861, is racist. It shows a White settler tilling the land, as a Native American on horseback rides off into the distance.
Critics also say the flag’s design also violates “good flag design” tenets, which value simplicity and symbols rich with meaning.
According to state statute, the new designs “must accurately and respectfully reflect Minnesota’s shared history, resources, and diverse cultural communities.” However, “symbols, emblems, or likenesses that represent only a single community or person, regardless of whether real or stylized, may not be included in a design.”
The public is invited to comment online on the designs, and SERC members will pick their top 25 choices for the new flag and seal by mid-November.
The commission as a whole must then pick five finalists, with residents also able to provide their feedback on those.
SERC has to submit a report with the new designs to the state legislature by Jan. 1, 2024, and they will be officially adopted by Statehood Day, which is May 11.
NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is Oct.. 5, 2023.
