Flag of Minnesota

How to read it

Minnesota Statutes § 1.141 adopts the design certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission, set up by Laws 2023, chapter 62, article 2, section 118. The Secretary of State files a photograph of the flag, it flies on the State Capitol grounds from sunrise to sunset, and it is folded for storage like the national colours. The commission adopted the flag on 19 December 2023, by an 11–1 vote, MPR News reported, from a concept by Andrew Prekker of Luverne, chosen out of 2,128 flag submissions. Its report fixes the construction: a flag five-thirds as long as it is high, a star that is a regular octagram {8/3} with one point to the north, and two blues, Pantone 648 (#002C5A) for the night sky and Pantone 305 for the water. The flag and the new seal became official on 11 May 2024, the Legislative Reference Library says. The motto is the one on the state seal.

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Why the star has eight points

The commission gives three reasons. An eight-pointed star appears in many cultures, and in quilting by Indigenous people and some new immigrants. It is the brass star Cass Gilbert inlaid in the floor of the State Capitol Rotunda, whose outline gives the illusion of the letter M. And the flag’s star points north, as the Rotunda star does. MPR News reported that the commission had debated an eight-pointed star against a “compass star” before choosing this one.

The flag it replaced

Minnesota’s first flag was designated in 1893, and the design used until 2024 was adopted in 1957, the Legislative Reference Library says. It was largely the state seal on blue, with three dates: 1819 for the founding of Fort Snelling, 1858 for statehood and 1893 for the first flag. Supporters of the change said the old flag was offensive to Native Americans and poorly designed, the Minnesota House of Representatives notes. The commission’s report was accompanied by a minority report.