5 Finalists Chosen For New MN State Seal

ST. PAUL, MN — The State Emblems Redesign Commission on Tuesday selected six designs as the basis for the next Minnesota state flag and five designs to serve as the basis for the next state seal.

The designs may be modified, including changes to shapes and colors, officials noted.

Check out the six flag finalists here.

The Minnesota state seal finalists are S2, S6, S27, S147, and S224. They can be viewed on the seal entry page and below:

S2:

S6:

S27:

S147:

S224:

More than 2,600 designs were submitted for the new Minnesota state flag and seal, and they're now available for public view on the State Emblems Redesign Commission website.

The commission has until Jan. 1, 2024, to choose and formally adopt a new flag and seal.

Last spring, the Democratically-controlled legislature passed a bill to create a commission tasked with choosing a new design for the official state flag and seal.

The Minnesota Historical Society is providing administrative support to the commission.

Why a new flag and seal?

The current state flag dates back to 1858 and was designed by Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis.

The flag emblem depicts a pioneer plowing a field while a Native American man on horseback rides toward the sunset.

"Minnesotans For A Better Flag" lists 10 reasons why an update is needed, including that it's boring and its details are too small, confusing, and even controversial.

"The seal originally symbolized the white man’s takeover of the frontier from the Native Americans," the group states. "It is confused with more than twenty other state flags: all blue backgrounds with a seal."

Rep. Andy Smith said on Twitter he doesn't include the state seal on office stationary and business cards "because it is not respectful to all Minnesotans."

Minnesotans For A Better Flag has several of its own proposals.