Walz hit with local revolt from Minnesota mayor refusing ‘ugly’ new flag: ‘People’s decision’
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is facing a new challenge from a Minneapolis-area mayor who is refusing to back down from flying the original 1980s state flag. The mayor said...
By Fox News · Fox News
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is facing a new challenge from a Minneapolis-area mayor who is refusing to back down from flying the original 1980s state flag. The mayor said the controversial flag redesign has left citizens out of the process and stuck with what consider an "ugly" replacement. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas said that "in my nearly 10 years of being on the city council in Champlin and going on four years as mayor of this town, I have never heard from more people on any one issue than I did about the Minnesota state flag." The new flag has become a cultural and political flashpoint in a state already reeling from one of the largest fraud scandals in U.S. history, heavily involving the Somali immigrant community . The flag was approved by a 13-member commission created by the Democratic-controlled legislature in 2023. Critics of the flag say it is overly simplistic and some have even knocked it as bearing a resemblance to Somalia’s national flag. Sabas said that "without any question" there is at least a two-to-one majority in favor of keeping the earlier 1983 version of the state flag. He said that many believe it erases their history, while others simply think it is "ugly." He also emphasized the massive wasteful spending to replace the old flag, pointing to the $40,000 it cost the city of Champlin alone. For these reasons, he is now calling on Walz and the state legislature to reopen the flag issue and put it to a vote by citizens across the state. "These are the people's flagpoles. This is the people's decision," he emphasized. MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS PUSH BILL TO CUT STATE AID TO CITIES THAT FLY THE ORIGINAL STATE FLAG The old flag features a blue field with the state seal, with a farmer and American Indian figure along with the state motto and founding date. The new flag touts a more simplified design with a dark shape representing Minnesota, a light blue field and an eight-point North Star. In its final report…