The state flag of Minnesota has the state seal centered on a royal blue field. Around the state seal is a wreath of the state flower, the pink and white showy lady slipper. Three dates are woven into the wreath: 1858, the year Minnesota became a state; 1819, the year Fort Snelling was established; and 1893, the year the first official state flag was adopted. Nineteen stars ring the wreath, symbolizing the fact that Minnesota was the nineteenth state to enter the union after the original thirteen. The largest star represents the North Star and Minnesota. The central seal pictures a farmer plowing a field, and an Indian riding a horse. 87 circles around the seal represent Minnesota's 87 counties. A red banner with yellow letters has the state motto, l'etoile du nord (French for "star of the north.") The word "MINNESOTA" appears in red on the bottom of the white band surrounding the seal.

The first state flag, adopted in 1893 and designed by Mrs. Edward H. Center, had different designs on its obverse and reverse sides - the obverse side had state seal on a white field, the name of the state, and 19 gold stars; the reverse side had plain blue field.

As the two-sided flag was not easy to manufacture a new design was approved on March 19, 1957, eliminating the different-colored sides in favor of a blue field on both sides. Also remaining in the seal are representations of St. Anthony Falls, a setting sun, and a border of lady's slipper flowers together with the dates of the first European settlement in Minnesota (1819), its admission to statehood (1858), and the adoption of the first state flag. The state motto, “L'Étoile du nord” (“Star of the north”), is shown on a red ribbon. When admitted to the union, Minnesota was the northernmost state