The current Flag of the State of Minnesota
The Flag of the State of Minnesota consists of the state seal charged on a medium blue background. The current flag was adopted in 1957 and the state seal in the flag was modified in 1983.
[edit] Flag Design
The first flag of the state of Minnesota was adopted in 1893. That flag was created by Pauline Fjelde via commission of designer, Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis.[1] That flag was white on front and light blue on the back. In the center was the state seal wreathed with white moccasin flowers, on a blue ground. A red ribbon in the seal bore a motto, L'étoile du nord (French for "The North star"). The years 1819 (settlement of Minnesota), 1858 (statehood) and 1893 (adoption of the first state flag) appeared in gold around the state seal. Minnesota was written under the state seal in gold and 19 gold stars arranged in clusters to form the points a star, representing the fact that Minnesota was the 19th state added after the original 13 states. The flag was redesigned in 1957 due to an error of the flowers used on the seal. Instead of a Pink and White Lady's Slipper, it showed a variant that was not native to the state.[2]
[edit] Official statute
The law creating the 1957 state flag is located in Chapter 1 of the Official State Statutes. The chapter covers state symbols, sovereignty and other general issues. The location of the flag in the statutes is Section 1.141. The statute also mandates for the Secretary of State to keep a photograph of the official state flag and samples so they can be used by the public to make copies.[3]
[edit] New flag proposals
Proposed "North Star" Flag
Since 1989, several efforts have been made to redesign the Minnesota flag — most notably the North Star Flag campaign. The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), in its 2001 survey of United States and Canadian state, provincial, and territorial flags rated the current Minnesota flag 67th out of 72 flags evaluated.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
