The fight over Minnesota’s new state flag has turned into one of Alpha News’ top stories of the year, with petitions, county revolts, and thousands of readers weighing in.
That reaction got us asking: who exactly is the man behind the redesign?
The man behind the flag
His name is Andrew Prekker, a Luverne resident who submitted his winning creation to the State Emblems Redesign Commission in 2023.
The commission made slight changes to Prekker’s original design, keeping the North Star and abstract state outline but replacing the stripes with a solid blue field.
When Prekker’s design was selected as the new state flag, he issued a statement calling it “such a rare privilege to be able to contribute to our state’s history in such a special way. And I’m so proud to be able to say I helped design the new Minnesotan state flag!”
In a WCCO interview, Prekker called the selection an honor. “For me, it’s an important change that is necessary to be inclusive to all people in Minnesota, especially our Indigenous communities and tribal nations,” he told the outlet.
A look at designer’s politics
Beyond his design work, Prekker’s online footprint reveals a strong political bent.
In public Facebook posts, he has voiced support for Kamala Harris, vaccines, and Transgender Day of Visibility, while repeatedly attacking President Donald Trump.
After the June assassinations of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Prekker wrote: “It’s so easy to view this as an isolated tragedy and just move on, but this is the direct result of domestic terrorism stoked by the intentional violence of the Republican Party and the Trump Administration … Political assassinations are occurring during the Trump Administration. When we say words matter, this is why.”
On Trump’s rebuke of the Smithsonian for promoting what he called “improper ideology,” Prekker wrote: “This is no different than Nazis who burned books. Trying to remove, ban, and destroy access to information in order to control a narrative is fundamental to authoritarianism.”
In other posts, he described Trump and Vice President JD Vance as “crybaby toddlers,” suggested America rejected Harris because of her race, and accused Elon Musk of performing a Nazi salute.
“This is deliberate fascism,” he wrote along with an infamous video of Musk gesturing to the crowd at Trump’s inauguration. “The Republican Party will try to normalize this behavior, but we must call it out every chance we get.”
After Harris’ election loss, Prekker said: “I am devastated and grieving for our country. The rights of so many people will be stripped away at the hands of right-wing Christian nationalism. Our president will wield unprecedented levels of power and wage war on anyone who stands against him.”
A flag that divides
Gov. Tim Walz previously defended Prekker’s redesign on a Twin Cities radio show, calling the old flag “highly offensive to a large number of people.”
Critics of the previous design, in use since 1957, said it was bland and carried imagery viewed as prejudiced toward Native Americans. One flag expert gave the new design an A+.
But many Minnesotans see something else: a political symbol imposed without a vote.
The new flag was the product of a redesign process mandated by the then DFL-controlled legislature and carried out by a 13-member commission, which received thousands of submissions from the public before settling on Prekker’s design.
According to the State Emblems Redesign Commission’s report, Walz got to appoint three members of the public, while the rest of the seats went to state agencies and cultural councils.
Critics of the process described it as rushed and politically lopsided.
A rural revolt
Since becoming official in 2024, some rural counties and cities — including Crow Wing, Nobles, Houston and McLeod counties, along with towns like Pequot Lakes, Crosslake and Babbitt — have refused to fly the flag.
Many cities and counties cite cost, tradition, and opposition to a divisive symbol, choosing to keep flying the old flag or leave poles empty. State buildings must raise the new banner, but local governments are exempt.
Petition to restore old design growing
The petition to restore the old design has surged to over 37,000 signatures.
“The North Star State requires a flag that not only captures its essence but also respects its past. The current flag does not fulfill these objectives and, as a community, we need to advocate for the reinstatement of our traditional emblem,” the petition states.
The petition organizer — who goes by “Minnesota Lady America First” on social media — has also been reminding Minnesotans what the old flag represented.
In a post on X, she shared a visual of the previous flag along with its detailed symbolism.
Minnesota’s old flag is rich in history. My petition is over 36,400 signatures now and the link is pinned on my profile. pic.twitter.com/TaSjDQCXqu
— Minnesota Lady America First🇺🇸 (@BubbyBlu29353) August 19, 2025
She urged residents to “share this with other proud Minnesotans,” calling the flag’s imagery “fundamental to the history of the development of Minnesota.”
The post The man behind Minnesota’s new flag: social media posts reveal striking anti-Republican bias appeared first on Alpha News MN.
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Author: Jenna Gloeb
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