Could Michigan Be Considering A New State Flag?

To those of us in Michigan, our state flag may feel pretty iconic already.

When you see it flying, you know exactly what it is. But, does it actually have any meaning once you leave the Mitten state? One East Grand Rapids lawmaker is arguing that maybe it's time our state flag got a little bit of a re-branding.

How did Michigan end up with it's state flag?

Michigan's state flag was originally designed and implemented over a hundred years ago in 1911. When we adopted our state flag, it came with a simple phrase, "The State Flag shall be blue charged with the arms of the state."

It wasn't our first flag though, our original state flag was adopted in 1865, and while similar, had a reverse side that had the arms of the United States. There are no photos or remaining versions of this flag, however.

We've held on to this symbol of our state for such a long time, why would we want to change it now?

What would Michigan's new state flag be?

Phil Skaggs, a state representative from East Grand Rapids says he thinks Michigan needs a flag we can rally around and brand, that's why he plans to submit legislation later this month for the change.

He has said in previous interviews that “(Places like) Chicago, Arizona, Colorado, the United States, Canada. These are really amazing flags that get used throughout the community and create a sense of pride and unity,” he continued, “This is something that we can have in Michigan, too. The current flag doesn’t give us that.”

But what could are new state flag be? Here's my proposed idea of what should represent Michigan:

Yes, that is a pothole under the state seal. My idea is that we can use this one until all the "damn roads" are fixed.

Okay, fine, that's not really something that would look cool on a shirt. Currently, Representative Skaggs says that his current plans still include the state seal that we're all familiar with, just some sprucing up to make it something more modern and marketable.

I'm curious to see what it turns into, but I'm submitting my option from above if they can't think of anything better.