Crow Wing County Board plans to take concerns over new flag design to Minnesota governor
CROW WING COUNTY, Minn. — Minnesota's newly redesigned state flag is still set to debut on Statehood Day in May. But the Crow Wing County Board plans to take their concerns about it to the governor and state lawmakers in the new year.
Commissioner Paul Koering raised this concern to the county board at last Tuesday's meeting, saying that he's received a number of calls and messages from his constituents who are not happy with the new design.
Fellow Commissioner Steve Barrows also echoed the same message during the meeting.
Our current state flag and seal features a controversial image of Native Americans that has drawn criticism for decades with many saying it's racist.
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Koering says he believes the image shows White and Native Americans living in harmony. He also likened it to the confederate statues torn down across the country in 2017.
"I think we're we're doomed to repeat our failures if we whitewash our history and this is just an example of it here, changing this Minnesota flag, which I don't agree with, a lot of my constituents don't agree with," Koering said.
The county board will vote on Tuesday to send a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and state lawmakers to express their displeasure with the flag redesign.
The letter will serve as more of a symbolic resolution, meaning it won't have any direct impact. However, the board felt it was important to raise their concerns.