Here are some standouts among the submissions for Minnesota’s new flag and seal

Molly Guthrey, Pioneer Press
·4 min read
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Luis Fitch is currently mulling over loons, stars, lakes and other iconic symbols of Minnesota submitted in the search for our new state flag and seal.

Soon, Fitch — the chair of the State Emblems Redesign Commission — will need to discuss his top 25 picks (for each category) at a commission meeting. There will be more winnowing to come, from semifinalists to finalists, with one flag design and one seal design ultimately selected on Dec. 12.

Fitch is still working his way through the 398 submissions for the seal and he has some cutting to do for his initial picks among the 2,123 flag entries.

“I have 110 for the flag,” Fitch said with a laugh on Thursday. “And that’s just me. We have a lot to choose from.”

The flag and seal redesign process was mandated by the DFL-controlled state Legislature earlier this year.

Proponents of the change say the main image on the current flag, dating to 1957, and the seal, adopted in 1861, is offensive. It shows a white settler tilling the land, as a Native American on horseback rides off into the distance.

Critics also say the current flag violates tenets of good flag design, which value simplicity and symbols rich with meaning.

The commission’s meetings are open to the public, including an in-person meeting (with a virtual option) on Nov. 21, but Fitch encourages people to view the submissions online and submit comments right now for the commission to consider as they work:

View the flags at serc.mnhs.org/flags (click on “leave a comment” on the top right of the landing page).

View the seals at serc.mnhs.org/seals (the “leave a comment” icon is also on the top right of this landing page).

Sign up for updates at mnhs.org/serc.

For now, here are some of the entries — both silly and serious — that stood out to us:

Minnesota’s state dog?

OK, whose dog is this?*

“I can’t believe we’re talking about a dog,” Fitch says with a chuckle.

Yes, someone sent in a photo of a dog (submission F156) as consideration for our state flag. While Minnesota has a state fish (the walleye), a state bird (the loon, of course) and a state bee (the rusty patched bumble bee), there is no state dog. This one looks like a Labrador.

Also, why no cats?

Loons

We tried to count the loons, but there were too many and we were on deadline — there were at least a few birds incorporated into the flags on each of the 22 pages that make up the online photo gallery.

It’s loony over on the four pages of the state seal entries, too.

In addition to the state bird, there are many other submissions that incorporate state symbols, including stars (for “L’etoile du Nord,” our state motto), the showy lady slipper (our state flower) and the monarch (our state butterfly).

‘Mni Sota Makoce’

There are many entries with Native American influences, including F1999, which reminds us that Minnesota owes its name to the Dakota: “Mni Sota Makoce” is a Dakota phrase that describes a land where water reflects the clouds, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

Other people’s flags

The Soviet Union’s flag is submission F182.

What is the person who entered it trying to communicate, do you think?

California’s flag (submission F223) is also among the contenders (or is it?) as well as the “DON’T TREAD ON ME” flag that dates back to the American Revolution (submission F274).

Minnesota’s current flag was also submitted multiple times (including F407).

A scarred Virginia battle flag — famously captured by the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 — is also incorporated into a submission (F589), along with the words, “Capture the flag champions.” Since Minnesota has refused to return this tattered Confederate remnant over the years, another portion of the text says, “From our extremely cold dead hands.”

Children’s entries

It appears that plenty of kids entered their drawings and concepts in both categories.

“That makes me very happy,” Fitch says.

Happy, because this exercise was not limited to professional artists or designers or even to grown-ups.

Also, think of the U.S. flag and its simplicity — stars, stripes and three colors. Almost anyone can draw a version of it, and you see lots of children doing so in school.

Will any of these entries be as easy to reproduce with little hands and a box of crayons?

Fashion … forward?

Can a flag be a fashion statement? Submission F710 in Minnesota’s search for a new flag says “lumberjack chic” to us.

Water, water everywhere

Water is a familiar refrain among the entries: Docks on the lake, canoes in the river, people playing hockey (as they do in submission S397).

How likely is it that the state flag or seal won’t incorporate water in some way?

Skyways

An image of two skyways, with snow below. There’s nothing more Minnesotan than that.

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