State Emblems Redesign Commission

On December 5, 2023, the State Emblems Redesign Commission unanimously voted to move forward with the following design as the basis for the official Great Seal of the State of Minnesota, subject to expected modifications.

More than 2,600 designs were submitted for the new Minnesota state flag and seal during the public submission period that ended on October 30, 2023. View qualifying submissions through the links below.

Meetings & Recordings

The State Emblems Redesign Commission meets Tuesdays, from 9:00am to 10:30am

Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 1:00pm to 5:00pm; 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Location: Hybrid Meeting - Minnesota State Capitol Complex
SERC: Dec. 12 Mtg.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Dec. 5 Mtg.

Documents shared in meeting: 

• SERC Design Concepts
• SERC Flag Finalists: Public Comments (614 pages)
• SERC Seal Finalists: Public Comments (207 pages)

Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Nov. 28 Mtg.

Documents shared in meeting:

• Finalist Design Assessment

Tuesday, November 21, 2023, 1:00pm to 5:00pm; 5:00pm to 9:00pm AGENDA
Location: Hybrid Meeting - Room 1200 in the Minnesota Senate Building 95 University Ave W, St. Paul, MN 55155 [Meeting Notes] (YouTube) 
SERC: Nov. 21 Mtg.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Nov. 14 Mtg.

Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Nov. 7 Mtg.

Tuesday, October 31, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (Part 1, Part 2 on YouTube)
SERC: Oct. 31 Mtg.
Documents shared in meeting:

• SERC Meeting and Process Timeline
• NAVA / Ted Kaye SERC Presentation (Slides)

Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Oct. 24 Mtg.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Oct. 17 Mtg.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes] (YouTube)
SERC: Oct. 10 Mtg.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes]
SERC: Oct. 3 Mtg. Meeting Recording (Part 1, Part 2 on YouTube)

Documents shared in meeting:

• Design Submission Rules - Website Version

Tuesday, September 26, 2023, 9:00am to 10:30am AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes]
SERC: Sept. 26 Mtg. Meeting Recording (YouTube)

• Adopted Submission Rules

Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 3:00pm to 4:30pm. AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes]
SERC: Sept. 20 Mtg. Meeting Recording (YouTube)
Documents shared in meeting:

• Adopted Design Brief and Timeline

Tuesday, September 12, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:30pm. AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes]
SERC: Sept. 12 Mtg. Meeting Recording (YouTube)
Documents shared in meeting:

• MN Seal and Flag Presentation
• What is a Creative Brief?
• DRAFT MN State Flag and Seal Design Brief

Tuesday, September 5, 2023, 10:30am to 12:00pm. AGENDA
Location: Virtual Meeting [Meeting Notes]
SERC kick-off meeting. Meeting recording (YouTube)

Commission Members

VOTING MEMBERS (NAME, APPOINTING AUTHORITY)

• Dr. Kate Beane, Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB)
• Shelley Buck, Governor - General Member of the Public
• Luis Fitch, Council on Latino Affairs
• Anita Gaul, Governor - General Member of the Public
• Michael Harralson, Governor - General Member of the Public
• Kim Jackson, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
• Robert 'Deuce' Larsen, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) - Dakota Community
• Denise Mazone, Council on Minnesotans of African Heritage
• Lauren Bennett McGinty, Explore Minnesota Tourism
• Philip McKenzie, Minnesota State Arts Board
• Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State
• Kent Whitworth, Minnesota Historical Society
• Aaron Wittnebel, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) - Ojibwe Community

NON-VOTING MEMBERS (NAME, APPOINTING AUTHORITY)

• Senator Steve Drazkowski, Minnesota Senate - Member of the Minority
• Rep. Mike Freiberg, Minnesota House of Representatives - Member of the Majority
• Senator Mary Kunesh, Minnesota Senate - Member of the Majority
• Rep. Bjorn Olson, Minnesota House of Representatives - Member of the Minority

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

• Lindsey Dyer, Minnesota Historical Society
• David Kelliher, Minnesota Historical Society

Resources for Educators

Teaching Activity + Accompanying Slideshow created by Commission Vice Chair Dr. Anita Gaul
This activity fits under the MN Social Studies Citizenship and Government Substrand 2 (Civic Values and Principles of Democracy), Standard 2: The civic identity of the United States (or, in this case, the state of Minnesota) is shaped by historical figures, places and events, and by key foundational documents and other symbolically important artifacts (in this case, the state flag and seal).

Background Resources

Current State Flag, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State

Current State Seal, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State

Ted Kaye, ""Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag How to Design a Great Flag", North American Vexillological Association.

William Convery, “Minnesota State Seal”, MNOpedia, September 20, 2023.
The Great Seal of Minnesota was created by men who tied their fortunes to the progress (as they defined it) and settlement of the state, often at the expense of Native Americans. Since the late 1960s, critics of the seal have argued that its imagery reflects an anti-Native American bias. Recent calls to change the seal’s design have sparked new conversations about the symbols that best represent... 

William Convery, “Minnesota State Flag”, MNOpedia, August 2, 2023.
What good is a state flag? According to flag expert Lee Herold of Rochester, Minnesota, a good flag creates a distinctive brand. Ideally, Minnesota’s flag should also create unity, representing our state’s values everywhere it flies. But this has not always been the case. The people of Minnesota have altered their state flag’s design in the past to meet changing needs. They are continuing to do so today…

Mitch Smith and Sarah Almukhtar, “How States Are Threading the Needle on Flag Design”, New York Times, August 17, 2023.
For more than a century, Utah’s flag has paid homage to the state’s founding settlers: the sego lilies they subsisted on when food was scarce, a beehive symbolizing their communal spirit. From a distance, though, it looks a lot like several other state flags that also feature a seal on a blue background…

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