The Minnesota state flag, adopted in 1957, is royal blue with gold fringe.  In the center of the flag is the state seal.  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.  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.

Minnesota Statutes 1998 - 1.141 Official state flag