Editing Flag of Minnesota (section)

==Design and use==

=== Statute ===
[[File:MN state flag construction set.svg|thumb|Construction sheet]]
Minnesota statute 1.141 states that "The design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission... is adopted as the official state flag."<ref name="flag statute">{{cite web |year=2006 |title=1.141 Official State Flag |website=Office of the Revisor of Statutes |url=http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?type=s&year=current&num=1.141 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329212556/https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/1.141 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |access-date=October 7, 2007 |publisher=State of Minnesota}}</ref> The text of the law defers the details of the current flag's appearance and design to the Commission's report, which was dated January 1, 2024.<ref name="report">{{cite web |title=The New Official Flag and Great Seal: Report of the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission to the Minnesota Legislature and Governor |url=https://www.sos.state.mn.us/media/5892/2023-state-emblem-redesign-commission-report.pdf |author=Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission |date=January 1, 2024 |publisher=Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State |access-date=November 16, 2024 |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203214041/https://www.sos.state.mn.us/media/5892/2023-state-emblem-redesign-commission-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission described the design as the following: 
{{Blockquote|text=On its left side, the flag contains a dark blue background with a white, 8 point star. One of the points of the star points north. The dark background is in the shape of the outline of the State of Minnesota. The remainder of the flag is a solid, bright blue.<ref name="report" />}} The report also features imagery and a construction sheet, more precisely designating the flag's colors and appearance.

===Geometry and colors===

The flag has an [[aspect ratio]] of 3:5.  The shape of the flag's dark blue region represents the shape of the state of Minnesota itself.  The flag's white star is a regular [[octagram]], having the [[Schläfli symbol]] {8/3}; the floor of the rotunda in the Minnesota State Capitol has an identical octagram design.  The State Emblems Redesign Commission's report also contains an official construction sheet for the flag.

The flag uses three colors: dark blue, light blue, and white.  Respectively, they represent the night sky, the waters of Minnesota, and [[Polaris]], the North Star.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Minnesota Flag |url=https://thievesriver.com/blogs/articles/the-spectacular-history-of-the-minnesota-flag |website=Thieves' River Apparel |date=October 30, 2024 |access-date=16 December 2024 |archive-date=December 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219090553/https://thievesriver.com/blogs/articles/the-spectacular-history-of-the-minnesota-flag |url-status=live }}</ref>  The State Emblems Redesign Commission's report provided technical specifications for the flag's colors, alternately in the distinct [[Web color]], [[CMYK]] and [[Pantone]] systems:<ref name="report" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
!rowspan="2" |Name
!colspan="5" |[[RGB color model|RGB]], or [[Web color]]
!colspan="4" |[[CMYK]]
!rowspan="2" |[[Pantone]]
|-
!Web color
!''R''
!''G''
!''B''
!Hex code
!''C''
!''M''
!''Y''
!''K''
|-
|White
|style="background:#FFFFFF"|
|255
|255
|255
|{{code|#FFFFFF}}
|0
|0
|0
|0
|White
|-
|Night Sky Blue
|style="background:#002D5D"|
|0
|45
|93
|{{code|#002D5D}}
|100
|86
|35
|31
|648
|-
|Water Blue
|style="background:#52C9E8"|
|82
|201
|232
|{{code|#52C9E8}}
|59
|0
|6
|0
|305
|}

=== Display and use ===
[[File:Minnesota Flag Flying Outside State Capitol.jpg|thumb|The 2024 Minnesota flag flying outside the [[Minnesota State Capitol|State Capitol]] on Statehood Day]]

The flag is to be flown over the [[Minnesota State Capitol]] from sunrise to sunset. When the flag is folded for storage, it should be folded in the [[Flag of the United States#Folding for storage|same way as the national flag]].<ref name="flag statute" />

[[Flag desecration|Mutilating, defiling, or casting contempt upon the flag]], attaching any design to the flag, or using the flag for advertising were misdemeanor offenses under State Statute 609.40, excepting flags on written or printed documents.<ref name="flag statute" /> However, following the 1990 Supreme Court ruling ''[[United States v. Eichman]]'', enforcement of this law has been deemed unconstitutional.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mercer |first=David |date=2016-08-01 |title=States' flag-burning laws unconstitutional, but persist |url=https://thedailyrecord.com/2016/08/01/states-flag-burning-laws-unconstitutional-but-persist/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802183300/http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/08/01/states-flag-burning-laws-unconstitutional-but-persist/ |archive-date=2016-08-02 |work=[[The Daily Record (Maryland)|The Daily Record]] |location=Urbana, IL |publication-place=Baltimore, MD |agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref>

==== Folding history ====
The flag of Minnesota did not have an official folding technique until 2010, when instructions for folding the 1983 State Flag for storage and display were codified in law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 333 - MN Laws |url=https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2010/0/333/#laws.2.1.0 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.revisor.mn.gov}}</ref> The folding for storage technique was done in the same manner as the U.S. flag, but the display technique was developed by members of the [[Minnesota National Guard]], and was so detailed that it was confusing to some.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brunswick |first=Mark |date=May 4, 2010 |title=Let 'L'Etoile' shine when folding the flag |url=http://www.startribune.com/let-l-etoile-shine-when-folding-the-flag/92730624/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811223049/https://www.startribune.com/let-l-etoile-shine-when-folding-the-flag/92730624/ |archive-date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |work=Star Tribune}}</ref> The original code (which was repealed in 2024 with the adoption of the new state flag) read: 
{{Blockquote|text=Fold the flag four times lengthwise so that one section displays the three stars of the state crest and the text "L'Etoile du Nord." Fold each side behind the displayed section at a 90-degree angle so that the display section forms a triangle. Take the section ending with the hoist and fold it at a 90-degree angle across the bottom of the display section and then fold the hoist back over so it is aligned with the middle of the display section. Fold the other protruding section directly upwards so that its edge is flush with the display section and then fold it upwards along a 45-degree angle so that a mirror of the display section triangle is formed. Fold the mirror section in half from the point upwards, then fold the remaining portion upwards, tucking it between the display section and the remainder of the flag.}}