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The new Minnesota state flag includes the eight-pointed star representing the North Star because one of Minnesota’s nicknames is the North Star state. This comes from the state motto L’Étoile du Nord, which translates to “The Star of the North” in French.

Three states have recently changed their flags, which had criticisms of being ugly or having ties or references to racism.

The Minnesota state flag adopted in 1893 fields a classic for most state flags of the state seal on a blue background. There were changes in 1957 and 1983 however these changes were minor enough that changes went unnoticed. Now Minnesota is adopting a completely new state flag. Minnesota held a contest where people living in the state could submit a flag they designed for consideration to be the new state flag.

The flag contains a white North Star emblazoned on an abstract shape of Minnesota in navy blue, with a light blue field extending from the Minnesota shape. The Minnesota Flag Commission voted 11-1 on the design, which was a submission by 24-year-old Minnesota artist Andrew Prekker. The flag will be adopted on May 11.

The new flag is becoming a partisan issue in Minnesota. Minnesota Republicans are hoping to turn their anger over the change into an election-year issue. Both non-voting members of the State Emblems Redesign Commission, Bjorn Olson and Steve Drazkowski, plan to introduce legislation in the upcoming session to put the final design to a vote of the public in the fall. Andrew Wagner, the executive director of the Minnesota House Republicans, went to Twitter, ”Uninspired. Boring. Appropriate result for this joke of a panel. Veto it and start over,” Wagner said.

However, the old Minnesota flag had more criticism because of its design and its racist connections. The flag depicts a Native American man riding away from land being cultivated by a white man. Critics say this represents the displacement of the indigenous people of Minnesota Tribal communities including the Upper Sioux community. Kevin Jensvold, the chair of the Upper Sioux Community in Minnesota, told the Minnesota Post, “The state flag is not displayed on tribal lands there because of the way it depicts indigenous people.”

The Minnesota Post wrote a column about its own flag’s design and stated that a redesign is necessary.

Other states have recently changed their flags from their old, outdated designs. Mississippi recently changed its state flag, as it used to be the Confederate flag in the top left corner on top of a blue, white and red tricolor. Mississippi has a new flag adopted on Jan 11, 2021. The flag includes a red, blue and red vertical tricolor with yellow stripes. In the center, it has a circle of stars with the U.S. motto “In god we trust” and a magnolia flower. The magnolia is Mississippi’s state flower.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves ratified the flag and raised it over the Capitol after decades of displaying the Confederate battle emblem. “Today, we turn the page. We commit our former flag to history, and we commit ourselves to the business of the future. It is one small effort to unify, but it is done in good faith,” Reeves said to CNN.

Another state that recently changed its flag is Utah, on Mar. 9. The 1911 flag design will become Utah’s historic flag. The new flag keeps the beehive symbol as a marker of the work ethic of the Mormon pioneers but features a simpler, more modern design with five peaks representing Utah’s mountains, and red mountains, which reference the state’s Red Rock canyons.