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Minnesota News
Cathy Wurzer, Todd Melby, Dana Ferguson and Gracie Stockton

Everyone is a flag designer: State has received 1,300 ideas so far

A gif of the Minnesota state flag flying in the wind
The Minnesota state flag flies in the wind on April 21, 2022 on the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News 2022

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With a midnight deadline approaching to submit ideas for a new state flag and seal, Minnesotans aren’t wasting time proposing designs.

As of Friday, more than 1,300 entries had been submitted to the State Emblems Redesign Commission, according to Anita Gaul, vice chair of the commission. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature empowered the committee to seek proposals from the public and choose a winner.

Up next: the public gets to view and comment on the new possibilities.

“We do hope that all of these submissions will be made available to the public to view in early November,” Gaul said. “As a commission, we want to hear what Minnesotans think.”

To be eligible, an applicant has to be 18 or older, or have a parent or guardian submit on their behalf. Each applicant can enter up to three designs for the flag and three for the seal. Members of the commission, along with their immediate family are ineligible to apply.

Entries that contain obscene or profane wording or imagery will be disqualified, as will designs that contain symbols, emblems or likenesses that represent only a single community or person. Submissions generated by artificial intelligence are also ineligible.

Applicants aren’t eligible for a prize or monetary compensation if their design is picked.

Minnesota’s current flag has received plenty of criticism, with some saying the design is overly busy and offensive to Indigenous communities.

“Our flag has been criticized as being overly busy,” Gaul said. “There is a lot going on in our current flag if you really take the time to look at it, so we need to look for a design that is simple and of course, one that is unifying and symbolic of all of us.”