Itasca County wants to hear from folks about what state flag to fly.
In what seems to be an effort to distract from the disastrous policies of Republicans in Minnesota and in DC, the chair of the Republican Party in Itasca County (on the west end of Minnesota's Iron Range, including Grand Rapids and Bigfork) has pushed our county board to wade into one of the stupidest parts of the culture wars and vote on flying the old state flag. They're taking public comments before a vote on May 19.
While I think that this is a bad idea because the old flag has a clear racist history and it's also just so boring that no one other than government agencies and banks flew it, I realize that for a lot of the folks up here, that racist history is exactly the point. So I'm trying to focus on what I think might matter more, which is that this is an unforced error to enter into a controversy that will only harm our interests. We have a lot of businesses here that rely on visitors from out of the area coming to enjoy our lakes, trails, and forests, and they're buying gas and supplies, hiring guides, staying in hotels and cabins, and eating at restaurants. No one is going to say "I'm only taking a weekend at the lake in counties that fly the old flag." But I suspect there will be people who see a vote like this as a reason to stay away and find a destination elsewhere in the state where the local government hasn't made such a show of making people feel unwelcome.
Here's a news story about this: https://www.kaxe.org/local-news/2026-05-08/itasca-county-considers-whether-to-fly-old-minnesota-state-flag
If you're in Itasca County, Minnesota, I hope you'll contact your county commissioner. The county office number is 218-327-7363 (https://www.itascacountymn.gov/345/County-Board-of-Commissioners)
If you're outside Itasca County, maybe consider contacting one or both of these two organizations and let them know how this kind of thing would affect your tourism planning:
Visit Grand Rapids at 855-944-7748 (https://visitgrandrapids.com/about/)
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce at 218-326-6619 (https://business.grandmn.com/contact)
Thank you!