BRAINERD, Minn. — A county board in central Minnesota is set to discuss a resolution directed at Gov. Tim Walz and other state lawmakers to "express displeasure" in Minnesota's new state flag and seal, claiming some of their constituents have approached them recently with negative feedback.
The Crow Wing County Board held its regular meeting Tuesday in Brainerd, in which Commissioner Paul Koering introduced the flag debate, calling the change a "whitewashing" of Minnesota's history.
"In my mind, it feels like we're whitewashing our history because somebody's offended by something on the flag... which I don't understand at all," Koering said.
Koering went on to compare the changing of the flag to the removal of confederate-era statues in other states in addition to those who deny the Holocaust took place.
"There's been a lot of that lately, taking down the confederate statues and taking down statues that apparently offend some people," Koering said. "Well, I would just remind everybody that's our history, whether it's ugly or bad. There's people who deny the Holocaust and the murdering of millions of Jewish people and they would like to whitewash that. But I think we're doomed to repeat our failures if we whitewash our history and this is just an example of it here."
Commissioner Steve Barrows agreed with Koering, saying he, too, has heard similar feedback from his constituents and supported the motion to draft a resolution.
"I'm not sure how changing our flag is going to advance our society, and yet, we're going to pay some money out — the taxpayers are — to make those changes," Barrows said. "Personally, I agree with you (Koering) and I don't see the sense in it. I'm very proud of the flag and the current seal that we have."
Commissioner Doug Houge also weighed in on the idea of a resolution, claiming some of his constituents said they would have liked to have seen the issue appear on their next ballots.
"It is very unpopular," he said.
Toward the end of the meeting, Crow Wing County Administrator Timothy Houle agreed to have a resolution prepared for Board Chair Rosemary Franzen for the group's next discussion on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Crow Wing County is located in central Minnesota, about two hours north of the Twin Cities.
KARE 11 has reached out to Commissioner Koering for comment, but has not yet received a response.
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