Mugs, hats and shirts: Items you can already buy featuring new Minnesota state flag
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's new state flag has yet to officially debut, but you can already buy merchandise featuring the redesign.
Earlier this month, the State Emblems Redesign Commission overwhelmingly approved the new design after making tweaks to the final concept it chose from over 2,000 submissions from the public. Both the new flag and new state seal will debut May 11, which is Statehood Day.
Not long after the flag was approved, the website Flags for Good opened up pre-orders for the new flag. According to the website, Flags for Good is waiting on the commission to "make clear some things before we begin production."
However, there are already numerous items available for sale on Etsy with the new flag design.
These items include:
- Flags
- Mugs
- Hats and beanies
- Shirts and sweaters
- Blankets
- Tote bags
- Magnets
- Wrapping paper
Why is Minnesota changing its flag and how much does it cost?
For years, there's been discussion about changing the flag.
Some say it needed a facelift because it looks like too many other states' flags that also have a blue background and the seal on them, so Minnesota's isn't memorable. It also violates the tenets of "good flag design" by flag experts — simple with meaningful symbols.
Others have issues with the imagery on the seal on the flag, which depicts a White settler plowing the land as a Native American rides off on horseback into the distance. Indigenous members of the commission said it was harmful to their communities and promoted the "erasure" of their people from the land.
But this year the legislature passed a law establishing the commission to oversee the revamping of both symbols and gave them a time frame and a budget of $35,000 to complete the task.
The first meeting was in mid-September, so they started and finished the work in four months. Members often noted that the timeline was quick given the scope of what they needed to do: change both the seal and flag and make them distinct.
In Utah, a panel took 18 months and nearly $500,000 to redesign the flag there, according to a CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City.
It is unclear how much it will cost to replace the current flags with new ones in state government buildings. WCCO has sent questions to relevant state entities.
The secretary of state's office responded that it was unsure of the cost related to replacing items with the seal on them.
The law says the current seal — which is often on official government documents — can be used until the supply is exhausted or until January 2025, whichever comes first. Information about the current seal will be retained in a collection kept by the Minnesota Historical Society.
The current flag, which is the seal on a blue background, dates back to 1957 and the seal was adopted in 1861.
