Minnesota has a new flag

[lpetrich]

The US state of Minnesota now has a new flag.

 

[lpetrich]

How did it get there?

Minnesota’s Search for a New State Flag Stirs Ideas and Debate - The New York Times - Dec. 9, 2023

Start with legibility. Viewed from afar, it is difficult to make sense of the jumble of dates, stars and the state slogan, in French, which rings the centerpiece image.

...
Zoom in on the scene depicted at the core, which happens to be the state seal, to understand why a lawmaker who led the latest effort to retire the flag calls it “a cluttered genocidal mess.”

In the foreground is a pioneer using a plow next to a tree stump, which features a rifle and an ax. Behind him is a Native American man on horseback, spear in hand, riding beside a sunset.

“It’s literally a Native person being driven off their land,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democrat, who is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and has refused, on principle, to use the state flag or seal in official correspondence and paperwork. “It’s horrific.”

So they started this: State Emblems Redesign Commission

The plan to replace the flag has faced a measure of resistance. Some lawmakers have asserted that the scene in the seal should not be construed as racist. Farmers have voiced concern that the new designs fail to pay homage to the state’s agriculture sector.

The State Emblems Redesign Commission, which is chaired by the Minneapolis-based artist Luis Fitch, provided detailed guidance for submissions. Entries needed to be simple, easy to recognize, free of lettering and “represent Minnesota’s enduring values and aspirations, emphasizing inclusivity and unity.”

They came up with a lot: Flags

A great many featured loons, which turned out to be a losing strategy since not one of the flag designs featuring birds was among the finalists. Some were rendered by children — we hope? — with crayons. Submission F156, a vertical photo of a Labrador retriever on a grassy field, got much love on the internet. Snowflakes abounded, as did renderings of the state motto, “L’etoile du Nord” — the North Star.

 

[lpetrich]

SERC - Next Minnesota State Flag
Designer Andrew Prekker's solution has a dark blue stylization of the state on the left with a white star in it, with three horizontal stripes on the right. From top to bottom: white, green, light blue.

The final design is with only light blue on the right, symbolizing the state's lakes.

Minnesota Unveils New State Flag Design - The New York Times

The commission must submit the winning design to the Legislature and governor by Jan. 1 for final approval. A new flag is expected to make its debut on May 11, Minnesota’s 166th birthday.

The commission also has a new design for the state seal: SERC - Finalist Seal - S224 featuring a  Loon a water bird.

The winning design for the seal features a loon, the state bird, in a striking pose, surrounded by other common features of Minnesota: waves, wild rice, pine trees and stars. The winning design retains a similar shape, typography and pattern to the original seal, which was adopted in 1858, the year Minnesota became a state.

 

[lpetrich]

 Flag of the United States - much less cluttered-looking that one might think - that's because of its patterns.

 Flags of the U.S. states and territories and US state flags: Every state flag (plus D.C.) and meaning behind each - some state flags look grossly cluttered.

How States Are Threading the Needle on Flag Design - The New York Times

Starting with the redesign of Utah's state flag - rather cluttered-looking. The redesign is much simpler visually, and much more striking. A beehive in the center with white mountains behind it, red land below, and dark blue sky above.

What makes a good flag?

• They’re simple and therefore easy to remember.
• They display symbols that are meaningful to their state.
• They use just a few colors.
• They don’t rely on lettering or seals.
• And they don’t look like any other state’s flag.

Texas's flag is visually striking while Nebraska's is a big fat mess.

Nebraska’s Flag Lacks Pizazz. The Hard Part Is Changing It. - The New York Times - Aug. 10, 2017 - "For several days this January, the state flag outside Nebraska’s Capitol fluttered upside-down in the frigid sky. And for several days, as lawmakers and lobbyists shuffled past, no one noticed."

Gov. Pritzker Signs Bill to Explore Creation of New State Flag for Illinois

Kansas's state flag is the state seal with a sunflower above it and the state's name belower it. It should only be the sunflower. Oregon's state flag has the state seal and the state's name and year on one side and a beaver on the other. It should only be the beaver.

A supporter of Illinois flag redesign:

“If you look at the Texas flag, no matter where you see that flag, if it’s flying, if it’s on a mug, if it’s on a postcard, you know the Lone Star State,” she said. But with Illinois, she said, “you wouldn’t know it was the Illinois flag other than the fact that ‘Illinois’ is emboldened at the bottom of it.”

Finally about the Utah flag, some Utahns are already flying it.

Aesthetics aside, if one goal of the new Utah flag was to unify the state, it has not yet succeeded. Particularly for some on the political right, the new banner has become a symbol of an unwelcome and much broader push to change things that do not need changing.

“They’re watering down the history, they’re watering down the significance, so they could slap it on a hat and slap it on a T-shirt and make a couple bucks,” said Chad Saunders, an organizer of the opposition to the new flag. “That has nothing to do with pride.”

 

[Derec]

SERC - Next Minnesota State Flag
Designer Andrew Prekker's solution has a dark blue stylization of the state on the left with a white star in it, with three horizontal stripes on the right. From top to bottom: white, green, light blue.

I guess the green was supposed to be symbolizing Islam, since Minnesota is in the process of submitting voluntarily ...

Prekker's Minnesota flag:

Jubaland (in Somalia) flag:

No wonder Ilhan Omar likes it. And I guess Andrew Prekker is a plagiarist.

 

[robnisch]

F-10 looks a lot like the Alaskan flag.

 

[Politesse]

SERC - Next Minnesota State Flag
Designer Andrew Prekker's solution has a dark blue stylization of the state on the left with a white star in it, with three horizontal stripes on the right. From top to bottom: white, green, light blue.

I guess the green was supposed to be symbolizing Islam, since Minnesota is in the process of submitting voluntarily ...

Prekker's Minnesota flag:

Jubaland (in Somalia) flag:

No wonder Ilhan Omar likes it. And I guess Andrew Prekker is a plagiarist.

Are conservatives truly stupid enough to believe this crap, or just trolling? Like, you really think they looked up an obscure regional Somalian flag for inspiration as part of some sort of bizarre Islamist plot?

 

[laughing dog]

As a Minnesotan, I can attest tge vast majority if us could not recognize the previous flag and will mot recognize this one in 2 weeks or less.

A small portion of the population was really invested in this project. I do like the blue but nothing on that flag says “ Minnesota” to me.

 

[Jarhyn]

As a Minnesotan, I can attest tge vast majority if us could not recognize the previous flag and will mot recognize this one in 2 weeks or less.

A small portion of the population was really invested in this project. I do like the blue but nothing on that flag says “ Minnesota” to me.

Eh, I like it. I'll recognize it anywhere I see it from here on out... Unlike the previous flag which I couldn't differentiate at a distance from any other seal-on-blue state flag.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Favorite state flag = AZ.

 

[thebeave]

I like our state flag, as I'm a big fan of grizzly bears (despite being personally scared shitless of them). I love the irony of it too. According to historical records, the grizzly bear in the flag is designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance. Any yet, we killed them all off, and they have been extinct in this state for many decades.

 

[Politesse]

View attachment 44968

I like our state flag, as I'm a big fan of grizzly bears (despite being personally scared shitless of them). I love the irony of it too. According to historical records, the grizzly bear in the flag is designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance. Any yet, we killed them all off, and they have been extinct in this state for many decades.

We have a stuffed one at the foyer of the campus science museum, I give him a respectful nod as I pass by.

We still refer to superficially disfavorable trading days as "bear markets" in reference to the bear-and-bull fights that contributed to both the decline of the (sub*)-species and its fierce reputation in public memory. Bulls charge over, bears swipe under.

Not the BEST state flag, but it is unique, and telling of our state's inherent contradictions.

My favorite state flags are those of Arizona and Colorado. Alaska's is also cool.

*sort of, don't ask a taxonomy nerd.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

SERC - Next Minnesota State Flag
Designer Andrew Prekker's solution has a dark blue stylization of the state on the left with a white star in it, with three horizontal stripes on the right. From top to bottom: white, green, light blue.

I guess the green was supposed to be symbolizing Islam, since Minnesota is in the process of submitting voluntarily ...

Prekker's Minnesota flag:

*sigh*

Those are the colors of skin of people in Minnesota in winter time.

 

[robnisch]

View attachment 44968

I like our state flag, as I'm a big fan of grizzly bears (despite being personally scared shitless of them). I love the irony of it too. According to historical records, the grizzly bear in the flag is designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance. Any yet, we killed them all off, and they have been extinct in this state for many decades.

I heard a story that Bartlet said pear and it got confused with bear.

 

[Shadowy Man]

It may have started with this YouTube video grading the state flags:

Grey grades state flags

He ranked Minnesota amongst the worst

He then made a follow up video after Minnesota introduced new options:

breaking flag news: Minnesota getting a new flag

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

They should have done a Viking helmet with horns (which aren't really Viking helmets) instead.

 

[TomC]

Honestly, I'd replace the star with a white Minnesota shape. Other than that it looks fine to me.

My idea of a good state flag combines something distinguishably from the state, while being simple enough for a 6 y/o to recognizably reproduce in crayon.
Tom

 

[ideologyhunter]

Looks like a swim suit design for old guys. I thought the new flag would show Bob Dylan eating a Juicy Lucy. But that, again, would be too much art in a small area.

 

[Gospel]

States with flags prominently displaying an X design should consider updating their flags. My state flag looks like the confederal flag with a cookie in the center.

 

[TomC]

States with flags prominently displaying an X design should consider updating their flags. My state flag looks like the confederal flag with a cookie in the center.

I had to google, but yeah. I see what you mean.

Is the brownish woman supposed to be throwing flowers to welcome the white folks aboard the steamship?
Tom