A group of Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers is pushing a proposal that would yank state funding from cities and counties that dare to fly the old Minnesota state flag instead of the freshly minted redesign. The message from St. Paul? Fly what we say—or pay the price. Local leaders aren’t having it.
Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas didn’t mince words, blasting the proposal as a panicked overreaction to a grassroots rebellion gaining steam across the state.
“It’s just an absolutely ridiculous bill that Democrats are signing on to because they’re scared that this has gained traction,” Sabas said. “Not that it is, it has gained attraction. Every week there’s another city or two or three that are passing the same resolution, that are moving forward, not staying silent anymore.”
Champlin is just one of several communities choosing to stick with the original 1893 flag or reject the new one altogether. And according to Sabas, that decision wasn’t made in some smoke-filled backroom—it came straight from the people.
He pointed to public meetings where residents overwhelmingly favored the old design, making the state’s threat to cut funding feel less like governance and more like punishment.
“The simple fact that they say they’re going to withhold any kind of funding from a city is absolutely ridiculous. That’s the people’s money. That’s the people’s taxes,” he said. Since when does the government get to strong-arm taxpayers over a piece of cloth?
Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeet echoed the outrage, calling the proposal what many critics are thinking but politicians rarely say out loud: “insane.”
“Punishing local governments for exercising their right to choose, on something that is supposed to be voluntary, does not reflect Minnesota values. It is an overreach of power, plain and simple,” Purfeet said. “In Minnesota, local control, fiscal responsibility, and giving people a voice still matters, and they should be respected.” That “local control” idea used to be bipartisan gospel. Now? Apparently optional.
North Branch Mayor Kevin Schieber took a different angle, saying the controversy is shining a spotlight on a deeper frustration—regular Minnesotans feeling ignored by elites who decided the old flag had to go.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t feel like their voices are being heard, and they’re being downplayed again and being accused of being racist and not wanting to be inclusive. I don’t see that at all,” Schieber said.
The original flag was scrapped after a state commission voted 11-1 in 2023 to replace it, citing complaints that its imagery—dating back to the 19th century—was offensive to Native Americans. The new design, rolled out in 2024, features a stylized star and a minimalist blue palette meant to evoke the state’s lakes.
But instead of unity, the redesign has sparked ridicule and backlash. Critics say it looks generic, uninspired—or worse, suspiciously similar to Somalia’s national flag. And now, instead of winning hearts and minds, lawmakers are reaching for the stick.
Sabas couldn’t resist pointing out the irony: the same Democrats who rallied against “authoritarianism” during the Trump years now seem awfully comfortable throwing their weight around.
“These folks, they want to talk about big picture politics and Donald Trump and No Kings rallies, they’re acting like kings right now because things aren’t going exactly how they want, so they want a pass a lot of punishments,” he said. “It seems absolutely just out of bounds and crazy.”
That’s the political equivalent of hoisting your own flag—and saluting yourself. For now, the proposal may be more bark than bite. Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth has already declared it “dead on arrival,” blasting fellow lawmakers for even entertaining the idea.
“It is appalling that House Democrats would rather defund critical services like police and fire than allow a city to fly our historic state flag,” she said. “As long as I’m Speaker of the House, this bill has no chance of becoming law.”
Still, the damage may already be done.
