The commission tasked with finding a new state flag and seal design has chosen its final recommendation for the new Minnesota flag.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the group chose a base concept for the new flag last week. During Tuesday’s meeting, which started at 9 a.m., members made some modifications to the design and chose the final look.

The blue in the new flag is meant to represent the thousands of lakes found throughout the state.

The base design was created by a 24-year-old, and the commission said it received a lot of comments on it.

Members of the commission said the two biggest changes people wanted to see were symmetry and no green in the flag. Commissioners add some people were commenting that they found resemblance to the flags of other countries, and a team of consultants also advised changing the star a bit to give it more symmetry.

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A photo of the base design can be found below.

Last month, the commission narrowed the number of submissions to six finalists, with the top three chosen on Dec. 12.

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The group has until Jan. 1 to recommend its final flag and seal designs and will finalize its report to the Legislature next week.

If the Legislature doesn’t make any changes, the new flag will fly on May 11, the day Minnesota became a state.

The commission also voted for a modification to its chosen design for the next state seal (shown above), changing the number of yellow bars around the outer ring of the seal to 98, representing Minnesota’s 87 counties and 11 federally recognized tribal nations.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who is part of the commission, released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“Minnesota’s new flag captures the imagination while standing apart from all other state flags with its unique design that depicts the shape of our state. Minnesotans have so much to be proud of from the beauty of our land, to our rivers and lakes, to our recognition as the North Star State – all of which are reflected in this flag. I hope Minnesotans will find commonality in this flag and unite around it for generations to come. 

I am deeply grateful to everyone who contributed their thoughts and ideas to this process – especially my fellow commission members who have worked diligently and respectfully in such a short time to accomplish this effort.  

I look forward to May 11, 2024 as a day where all Minnesotans can celebrate what makes our state exceptional.”