U of M engineers send new Minnesota flag into space

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    MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (WCCO) — Whether or not you think the design of the new Minnesota state flag is stellar, there’s no denying its interstellar thanks to some engineers at the University of Minnesota.

On X, the university said an engineering team sent the flag on its first flight to space. The school also shared stunning pictures of the flag flying above the earth.

The American flag and the U of M flag were hoisted among the stars, too.

Ognjen Ilic, an assistant professor at the U, said mechanical and aerospace engineers teamed up to launch the flag from Montgomery with a research payload.

Minnesota’s new flag design became official in May, on Statehood Day. Officials and others were concerned with the scene depicted on the old flag, which many found offensive. First adopted in 1957, the flag showed a White settler tilling land as an Indigenous man rides horseback. Indigenous members of the State Emblem Redesign Commission said it was harmful to their communities and promoted the “erasure” of their people from the land.

The flag also violated tenets of “good flag design,” as outlined by the North American Vexillological Association — meaningful symbols, just a few colors and no lettering or seals.

Luverne native Andrew Prekker provided the base design for the new flag, which the State Emlblems Redesign Commission then modified.

The star is a nod to the state’s motto “The Star of the North,” with the blue symbolizing Minnesota’s vast and distinct waterways.

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