Commission finalizes new state flag design: What's next?

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: As I mentioned, Minnesota has a new state flag. In just the last hour, the state emblems redesign commission finalized. The design one of our political reporters, Dana Ferguson, has listened to several months of flag design discussion and she joins us right now. Well, Dana, the commission got across the finish line.

DANA FERGUSON: They did it.

CATHY WURZER: Which design won the day?

DANA FERGUSON: Ultimately, it came down to some tweaking, but the commission picked a design that includes a dark blue K-shaped Minnesota figure on the left side. Inside it, there's a white eight-point star, meant to be the North Star. This was based on a version of flag 1953, for folks who've tracked this process closely. There was some debate about stripes and colors, whether they should go with an eight-point star or a so-called compass star. They ultimately went for the eight-point star though, which appears at the Capitol and some say it incorporates four M's.

CATHY WURZER: Now for folks who have not been following this as closely as you and I and other folks, why is the flag being replaced in the first place?

DANA FERGUSON: The flag is being replaced because the Minnesota legislature earlier this year passed a law calling for a commission to pick a new design by the end of the year. It's been described as cluttered and insensitive to some groups. That seal was officially replaced too as part of this process.

CATHY WURZER: Now, how did the commission get to this new design?

DANA FERGUSON: It was a very gradual narrowing process that came down to the final edits today. I'm sure you remember that huge pool of 2,000 designs that were submitted that range from kids' drawings, to professional mockups, to a bunch of jokes, and that Minnesota bobber image that you liked, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: I did.

DANA FERGUSON: Over the last couple months, they shrunk that pool down to six finalists, then three final finalists, before settling on this option today. A couple of professional designers came in this morning to review some of the flag edits. They talked about what qualities would make a flag more structurally balanced or easy to print or put together. And ultimately, the commission adopted those suggestions and went ahead with a flag that dropped the stripes and stuck with hues of white and blue.

CATHY WURZER: Was everyone on board with that design?

DANA FERGUSON: There was pretty broad support for the flag design after chair Luis Fitch described it as the Mississippi River under the North Star.

LUIS FITCH: We can put so many stories behind it. But I think we're forgetting that the most important river in the United States and one of the best ones around the world and the biggest one starts here. And I see the Mississippi River right there, but that's just me.

DANA FERGUSON: But not everyone was sold. Some members said it didn't incorporate green, which they thought was key. And others voiced frustration about the process of designing it.

CATHY WURZER: So let's talk about the designer. Who was behind the winning concept? And what was he going for with the design?

DANA FERGUSON: Yes, Andrew Prekker of Luverne submitted the original design that the commission worked off of. He said the North Star image was a big inspiration for him and he hoped to include green for nature, white for snow, and blue for Minnesota's abundant waters. He sent in a statement to the panel and said he was deeply proud to have a part in this process. Prekker said he also hopes it can unify people and make them feel included in it.

CATHY WURZER: So what did he say about all this today?

DANA FERGUSON: He was not at the meeting today. But Vice Chair Anita Gaul read a statement he sent to the commission by email. He wrote that it was a rare privilege to be a part of the state's history in this way.

ANITA GAUL: "It is my greatest hope that this new flag can finally represent our state and all of its people properly. That every Minnesotan of every background, including the Indigenous communities and tribal nations who have been historically excluded, can look up at our flag with pride and honor and see themselves within it."

CATHY WURZER: OK. Now we've gotten to this point. Is everything done now? Is it all over?

DANA FERGUSON: Yes and no. The final flag is done. So they don't have to do anything more on that side of things. But they plan to meet again next week to write a report outlining the symbolism behind the flag and seal and explaining why they made those selections. The emblems will replace the current ones on May 11th, which is statehood day, unless the legislature votes to veto them.

CATHY WURZER: And what would it take for the legislature to veto this?

DANA FERGUSON: The legislature could vote to remove the flag. That would require the DFL-led legislature passing a bill overriding the design. That would be a heavy lift. There were Republican members on the panel that said while they liked the ultimate product, they didn't think the process was fair.

And they said lawmakers should pass a bill putting it to a vote of the public to adopt it. Secretary of State Steve Simon noted that the state probably couldn't do that since Minnesota doesn't do initiative or referendum votes at the ballot. Some commission members have also brought up the prospect of litigation, particularly over the new seal. But we'll have to wait and see if that transpires and how the courts might come down.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Dana Ferguson, thank you so much for all the work you've done.

DANA FERGUSON: Thanks, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Dana is a political reporter for NPR News. You can see the flag, by the way, find all of her coverage of how it was chosen at NPRNew.org.