L’etoile du nord

What a flag says about our state

Flags have long been among humanity’s most potent symbols. While they may have little practical utility, their symbolic importance can make them subjects of heated public opinion. That has happened here in Minnesota.

For many years, Minnesota had a state seal and flag that were essentially the same, with modest tweaks in 1983, and featured the state’s motto, “L’Etoile du Nord,” and 1858, the year when Minnesota became a state.

But in 2023, responding to agitation from activists rather than to popular demand, the legislature mandated a contest to design a new flag and seal. That process resulted in a new seal featuring a loon and a new flag, an abstract design with a white star and two shades of blue.

The new flag was immediately controversial. It looks like a corporate logo and says nothing about Minnesota’s history or traditions. The pioneer and the Indian are gone. Ironically, some Native American groups had agitated for a new flag, but the result was that — like the Land O’ Lakes maiden, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jemima — the Indian has now vanished.

Many also noted that the new flag bears a striking resemblance to Somalia’s flag. While that might be coincidence, there is no question that the changes were driven by politics. The new flag and seal were part of a radical package of measures that the DFL trifecta forced into law in 2023. Thus, a member of the committee that chose the new designs said that 1858, the year when Minnesota joined the Union, was removed because joining the Union was a tragedy, not something to celebrate.

Proponents of the new flag hoped the controversy over its introduction would die down, but the new flag remains deeply unpopular not just with conservatives, but with many who value Minnesota’s traditions. Sales of the old flag have been brisk, and many have continued to fly it.

Minnesotans have expressed their unhappiness with the new flag in other ways. In 2024, the new flag and seal received the annual Golden Turkey Award, having been selected as the worst waste of state money by a vote of thousands of Minnesotans.

The legislature directed units of local government to immediately switch over from the old flag to the new flag. This was resented in many communities, not only because residents disliked the new flag, but because the expense of replacing perfectly good state flags was seen as frivolous. At least 99 cities and counties across Minnesota refused to fly the new flag, opting instead to fly the old one or to leave their flagpoles empty. These included Elk River, Champlin, Inver Grove Heights, Detroit Lakes, Wadena, Crow Wing County, Houston County, and many more.

Liberals in the legislature were unhappy at this popular resistance, and during the 2026 session, a bill was introduced to reduce local government assistance to towns and counties that declined to fly the new flag design. The bill didn’t go anywhere, but it was intended to send a message to recalcitrant cities and counties, and it reveals the political divide that lies behind the seemingly innocuous change in design.

The controversy over the new flag refuses to die down. In June 2026, The Minnesota Star Tribune headlined, “The new Minnesota state flag is deeply unpopular.” The newspaper’s poll found that only 30 percent of Minnesotans approve of the redesigned flag.

So far, there is no prospect of either side in the flag controversy backing down. The conflict over the flag illustrates how a purely symbolic issue can roil public opinion, even when a real and deep division over how to interpret our state’s history lies behind the competing symbols.