Panel selects finalists for new Minnesota flag, seal

Panel selects finalists for new Minnesota flag, seal

Panel selects finalists for new Minnesota flag, seal

Panelists have narrowed down the field of submissions for Minnesota’s new state flag and seal.

The State Emblems Redesign Commission, which is tasked with redesigning the flag and seal, sought to find five finalists for each out of thousands of entries during a meeting on Tuesday.

After more than six hours of deliberation, the commission opted to send six flag designs to the public for review:

Discussion on the state seal went much quicker. All of the 12 commissioners present for Tuesday’s meeting selected design S224 as one of the five finalists. That submission includes several of Minnesota’s state symbols — such as the common loon, red pines and wild rice — and features a lake and the north star. View all five state seal finalists below:

It’s possible a public submission could be tweaked slightly for final consideration. Commission members on Tuesday discussed changing the shades of certain colors or incorporating elements from one design into another.

The commission asked Minnesotans for ideas, and people submitted more than 2,600 designs. The public’s design ideas ranged from loons, north stars and northern lights to those that are more humorous. To see all state flag submissions, click here. To see all state seal submissions, click here.

The process started after state lawmakers decided last session to develop and adopt a new design for the officials state seal and flag no later than Jan.1.

They then created a commission to come up with a design that accurately and respectfully reflects Minnesota’s shared history, resources and diverse cultural communities.