A Proposal for the State Flag of Minnesota

There is an ongoing effort to get rid of the current flag of Minnesota. This is warranted. Several flags in the Union only consist of the state seal on a blue field, perhaps with some text added, which is neither distinct nor good-looking. At a glance, basically nothing sets the Minnesota flag apart from those of, say, Nebraska or Idaho. There are finer details, of course, but that belies the point: The finer details should not matter for a flag. It should be distinct at a glance from almost any other flag, and certainly from all other state or territorial flags within the same country.

Minnesota has long needed a new flag. Here is my proposal to replace it.

The grey outline is for visibility on a white background, not part of the design.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did submit a description of my design to the folks at Minnesotans For a Better Flag, the organization linked above. There are some striking designs included on their site (and some less good ones), the best of which is Rev. William Becker and Lee Herold's North Star Flag from 1989. I also greatly admire the ingenuity of John Palenschat's Loon Flag, even if I think it is a little too complicated for actual use.

Minnesotans For a Better Flag have not gotten back to me about my design, which probably means they aren't interested. Which is fine! I'm surely not the only other person who has submitted an idea, and they are very much allowed to not like mine. I still thought I would share my design here.

The flag is a tricolor in bright green, midnight indigo, and white. In the middle of the indigo stripe is a white roundel containing a 10-pointed star in indigo. Each element contains the following symbols:

Green stripe - representing the glow of the northern lights and Minnesota's luscious forests and prairies

Midnight indigo stripe - representing the night sky and the state's many lakes and rivers

White stripe - representing Minnesota's frigid winters

10-pointed star - standing for the Land of 10,000 lakes and representing L'Étoile du Nord; contained within the roundel, it somewhat resembles a compass or the eight-pointed star in the Capitol

As you may have been able to tell, the tricolor is supposed to represent two different images of nature in Minnesota. In one, the white functions as the icy ground below a dark, starred sky and a brilliant green aurora. The other works as a representation of the seasons, viewed from above: A dark river flows through the middle, and on either side is a shoreline in summer — the kind of gorgeous green that amazes this born-and-raised Texan every time he returns from a sabbatical down south — and one in winter — coated by all-consuming snow.

This color scheme would also be unique among U.S. state flags: Only Washington currently features green prominently, and it is a significantly darker shade. While many contain blue, none contain indigo. It is admittedly hard to consistently replicate one kind of purple across different applications, but this color leans much closer to navy blue than purple and is dark enough for most derivations from the "standard" indigo to not be too noticeable. While I could have used navy instead, giving the darkest color on the flag with a tinge of red lends it some distinctiveness and provides the slightest nod to the place purple has in our state's culture: Prince, some of our sports teams, and again the vibrant, multi-colored aurora. (Is that bit a stretch? Possibly, but it is an honest stretch.)

If there is one aspect of my design that I think is lacking, it is the lack of any nod to the Native Americans who have called Minnesota home. However, I ultimately decided that I could not do so; I am no expert in indigenous cultures, and any attempt at representing those cultures would likely have fallen flat. I am, in the end, a dumb white guy. And dumb white guys should know what they don't know.

This will not become the next flag of Minnesota, or even ever be considered for it. However, I feel the combination of simple, relevant symbols and bespoke, contrasting colors makes it a design that stands for Minnesota's many natural wonders. If our state ever does replace its flag, those are the qualities we should want in its successor.