I’ll be honest, I only like a few of the new Utah state flag redesigns
Plus: Here’s what comes next for currency with Queen Elizabeth II’s face
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I’ll be honest, I only like a few of the new Utah state flag redesigns
This anti-abortion candidate held a baby in his new ad to say he won’t ban abortion
Here’s what comes next for currency with Queen Elizabeth II’s face
I’ll be honest, I only like a few of the new Utah state flag redesigns
Utah is ready for a flag that pops.
The state is planning to ditch its current flag, which shows its state seal featuring a beehive and “Industry,” the state motto. Polling from the Utah-based firm Y2 Analytics found only a third of Utah respondents said they’d wear clothing or an accessory with the current state flag. The poll found 36% support designing a new flag, 35% are opposed, and 29% are ambivalent.
The most basic kind of U.S. state flag design is just the state’s seal or coat of arms against a blue background. Depending on how you count, some version of that style is used by 20 states. Utah’s flag is especially snooze-inducing when compared to the flags of states it shares a corner with — Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico — which all have flags that are instantly recognizable and very hot.
The Utah legislature approved a Utah State Flag Task Force last year and adopted a commemorative flag with a beehive and star that now flies at the Capitol in Salt Lake City. After accepting more than 7,000 design submissions from professional designers and the public this spring, the task force released 20 semifinalist designs last Thursday. You can read more about each design here. My favorites are B, C, and L.
Vexillologists, who study flags, say the best flag design is simple and distinctive with basic colors, meaningful symbols, and no lettering. These flag proposals all fit that criteria, especially when it comes to symbolism.
Poll respondents said the symbols that best represent Utah were beehives, honey bees, skiing, mountains, red rock, and Native American symbols. The flag proposals are heavy on beehives and mountains, and two show Delicate Arch. The use of eight stars or one single star with eight points represents the state’s Tribal Nations.
The color palettes of the semifinalist designs pay homage to the state’s natural environment, with blues, gold, oranges, and reds, which also happens to match the visual branding for Salt Lake’s 2002 Olympic Games.
The Utah State Flag Task Force plans to present a final design to the state legislature in late fall, and more states could follow. Mississippi changed its flag last year to remove the confederate battle flag in its canton, and lawmakers in Minnesota, which has a blue-state-seal flag like Utah, are pushing for a redesign too.
Which of the Utah designs are your favorites?
This anti-abortion candidate held a baby in his new ad to say he won’t ban abortion
Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen doesn’t want to talk about abortion, so naturally, he released an ad holding a baby to say he’d rather focus on other issues instead.
The physician and former state lawmaker said he’s delivered 500 babies, and he campaigned on banning abortion during the primary. In his first new ad of the general election campaign, though, “The Issues that Matter,” Jensen said he’s moved on.
“It’s a protected constitutional right and no governor can change that and I’m not running to do that,” Jensen says in the ad, referencing the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling protecting abortion.
He calls abortion “divisive” and accuses his opponent, incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, of “weaponizing the issue.” Instead, Jensen says, “let’s focus on the issues that matter,” including safe streets, schools, and parental rights.
We’ve yet to see full electoral impact of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, but ads like Jensen’s shows some Republicans are moving to the middle to appeal to a broader electorate that’s more pro-choice than their party’s base. A June MinnPost poll, released before the Dobbs ruling was announced, found 67% of Minnesota likely voters opposed an abortion ban, including nearly two-thirds of independents and more than a third of Republicans.
Jensen’s attempt to keep abortion off the ballot is complicated by his past comments as well as by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-.S.C.), who introduced legislation today that would ban abortion after 15 weeks nationally. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he thinks most Senate Republicans would prefer abortion policy be decided at the state level.
The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Minnesota’s Democratic Party affiliate, said in a statement that Jensen’s change of tone on abortion was “bizarre,” and they criticized his ad.
“The ad attempts to obfuscate Jensen’s view on abortion in an attempt to walk back his ticket’s extreme and archaic remarks about women and abortions,” the party said.
Here’s what comes next for currency with Queen Elizabeth II’s face
Queen Elizabeth II appeared on 33 currencies during her lifetime, a Guinness World Record, and replacing her with King Charles III will take years. Here’s what’s happening with Queen Elizabeth banknotes around the world: