How much did it cost to get a new Minnesota flag?
MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday is Minnesota Statehood Day, and it's fair to say it will likely garner more attention this year than it has since the first celebration in 1858. That's because the new state flag will officially ride up flag poles across the state at sunrise.
After four months of combing through more than 2,000 design submissions from the public, the State Emblems Redesign Commission settled on one created by Luverne resident Andrew Prekker. After some modifications, the design was finalized in December.
Taxpayers funded the entire endeavor, but just how much was spent? The answer is complicated.
The budget for the selection process
Last year, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law establishing the commission to create a new flag and seal. Of the state's $72 billion budget, $35,000 went to fund the effort.
According to the Minnesota Historical Society, which provided administrative assistance for the commission, that money was allotted for staffing, supplies and travel expenses.
By comparison, a state panel in Utah took 18 months to redesign its flag at a cost of $500,000.
The budget for everything else
The cost of actually producing the physical flag to fly on state buildings and incorporating its design on things like signs and uniforms is a whole other matter.
To replace the flags and seals, the financial burden falls on state agencies, state departments and municipal governments, including local police and fire departments.
The Secretary of State's Office told WCCO in December that it was unsure what all the replacements would cost.
This March, Wright County Commissioner Tina Diedrick told WCCO it will cost about $50,000 alone to replace the state seal on the new county justice center.
For some perspective, a Minnesota Department of Administration spokesperson told WCCO in December it spent about $1,400 in 2022 to replace state flags around the State Capitol complex.
The Minnesota State Patrol will also need to update its squad cars and uniforms with the new seal, and they're unsure how much it will cost.
While the old flag is officially history on Saturday, the law states the old seal can be used until January 2025.
Calls to change the old flag's design, adopted in 1957, have been going on for years. Many consider the imagery — a White settler tilling land as an Indigenous man rides off on horseback — to be racist.
Other critics felt it violated the tenets of "good flag design."
NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is April 25, 2024.