Minnesota mayors drag 'ridiculous' bill penalizing cities for not flying new controversial flag
Minnesota mayors are rejecting their state lawmakers' attempt to penalize cities for not flying the new state flag.
Members of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party pushed legislation Monday to reduce state aid to a county or city that "flies or otherwise makes use of a state flag other than the design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission."
Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas, whose city voted in favor of flying the original flag in February, called this bill a "ridiculous" reaction to a growing opposition movement.
"It's just an absolutely ridiculous bill that Democrats are signing on to because they're scared that this has gained traction," Sabas told Fox News Digital. "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."
MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS PUSH BILL TO CUT STATE AID TO CITIES THAT FLY THE ORIGINAL STATE FLAG
Sabas explained that he and the city council made the decision after holding a public discussion, pointing out that most of the local residents were in favor of returning to the original flag. He argued that a bill pulling city aid for rejecting the new flag would go against constituents.
"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," Sabas said.
Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeet, R., told Fox News Digital that he is thrilled with other cities and mayors pushing back on the bill, calling it "insane" and "total government overreach."
"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. In Minnesota, local control, fiscal responsibility, and giving people a voice still matters, and they should be respected," Purfeet wrote in a statement after the bill was introduced.
North Branch Mayor Kevin Schieber, whose city chose not to fly the new flag as opposed to flying the original flag, saw the reaction to the bill as a good opportunity to raise awareness for local Minnesota citizens who felt ignored by the state's decision to change flags.
"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 State Emblems Redesign Commission voted 11-1 to approve a new flag design in 2023 after critics argued the original flag image, which was first established in 1893, was considered racist to Native Americans.
The new flag now features an eight-pointed star against a navy blue background shaped to resemble Minnesota, next to a solid light-blue field, which represents the state's waters, according to the commission. It was officially adopted in 2024.
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The new design has been met with its own criticism from people who consider it to be a poor replacement and others who accused it of resembling the Somali national flag.
Sabas remarked that while Minnesota Democrats previously supported No Kings rallies in opposition to President Donald Trump, they are ironically "acting like kings" by rejecting public opinion.
"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. It seems absolutely just out of bounds and crazy," Sabas said.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R., previously called the bill "dead on arrival" with no chance of reaching the state Senate.
"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. As long as I’m Speaker of the House, this bill has no chance of becoming law," Demuth told Fox News Digital.