Resident urges Pipestone County to fly new Minnesota state flag, offers to donate replacements

A resident told the Pipestone County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 that he would like the county to adopt the new Minnesota state flag and offered to provide replacement flags at no cost.

Keith Mattson (spelled in the record as Mattson) described cultural and historical reasons he favors the new design and said it was created by “an indigenous man out of La Verne” and modeled on a star-quilt form that, in his view, would be “more inclusive.” He told the board he would “happily donate the new state flag” and later said he would pay to replace any flag the county needed to retire.

County Administrator Steve Ewing told Mattson the county appreciates the offer and can accept donations but noted the county must be frugal with taxpayer property: “we still have an inventory of old ones that we need to use up, and we can't just give those away because it's county property.” Ewing said the county would need to take an official action to accept a donation and that staff would work with Mattson after the meeting to discuss the logistics and how to handle existing inventory.

Mattson described personal and ancestral ties to the region and referenced local Native American history and the Pipestone quarry as part of his appeal. Commissioners thanked Mattson and directed him to meet with Administrator Ewing to follow up. No formal action was required or taken at the meeting on the flag issue.