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Minnesota Republicans rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday in an effort to put a new state flag design before voters this fall.

About two dozen people met on the Capitol steps to call for keeping Minnesota’s current state flag that features the state seal at the center of a dark blue background. Several held up or waved the flags as GOP lawmakers and others voiced frustration about the process that generated new state flag and seal designs.

“I’m wearing a T-shirt today that says, ‘Erasing history never goes well.’ And that’s what we believe is happening here,” Minnesota Republican Party Deputy Chair Donna Bergstrom said. “As a Native American and tribal member, it’s exhausting to see Native Americans once again bearing the brunt of the short-sighted eradication of our shared history.”

The Legislature last year set up the emblem redesign commission and tasked it with selecting a new state flag and seal before the end of the year. 

DFL lawmakers raised concerns about the existing flag being too cluttered and insensitive to some groups because the way it portrays a Native American man riding off into the sunset as a white farmer tills the land.

After taking in more than 2,000 submissions, the panel late last year approved new state flag and seal designs that will take effect on May 11 — Minnesota’s Statehood Day — barring legislative intervention.

A trio of GOP lawmakers said the commission’s process didn’t take in enough feedback from the public and Minnesotans should have a chance to put the designs to an up or down vote before they replace the current flag and seal.

“The goal is not to go back to this flag or to go to the new flag, the goal remains that Minnesotans deserve the right to vote for what represents them,” Rep. Bjorn Olson, R-Fairmont, told the group on the Capitol steps. 

Olson was a non-voting member of the emblem redesign commission. “We’re not against change. We’re against having people force the change upon us without hearing from us.” 

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They also proposed pushing back the date the new emblems would be adopted until after two-thirds majority of each chamber of the Legislature could approve them. Lawmakers also said they would bring forward a bill addressing costs from cities and counties that will need to retire and replace badges, police vehicle emblems and other official uniforms.

That would be a heavy lift in the DFL-led Legislature, where leaders have said they support the new designs.

“I know that everybody has different ideas about what this flag should look like or should have looked like or shouldn’t have this on it or add this. But the process I thought went really, really well,” said state Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton. Kunesh served as a non-voting member on the panel. “We had a lot of discussion, we had a lot of public involvement in it and I'm just really proud of the whole process that we went through.”

 depicts a K-shaped dark blue section at the left — which is supposed to represent the shape of Minnesota — and a light blue section to the right suggesting the sky and water. Inside the dark blue field is an eight-sided white star, which is supposed to represent Minnesota’s motto: The Star of the North. 

A new seal design shows a loon — Minnesota’s state bird — preening on a Minnesota lake with trees and a star in the background. The Dakota phrase “Mni Sóta Makoce” is also set to be incorporated into the design. “Minnesota” is derived from the Dakota name for the region.

Former commissioner Aaron Wittnebel said the phrase violated the parameters set for the redesign commission since it singles out a certain group. 

“It doesn’t comply with the law or the statute,” Wittnebel said. 

He also raised concerns about the state’s founding date not being included in the seal. Wittnebel said lawmakers would carry bills that would remove the Dakota phrase from the state seal and add the year 1858. If those proposals fail to pass, there could be grounds for a lawsuit against the commission, he said.

 the change could propel Minnesota from one of the worst-designed flags in the state to the top 10. 

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Republican lawmakers said they would carry a bill putting the new flag and seal designs to a public vote.

Kerem Yücel | MPR News

a group of people hold the old minnesota flag

Republicans rally in an effort to put new Minnesota flag to a vote

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