Do we need a motto makeover?
Aug. 20—Quick — what is Minnesota's official motto?
If you said, "The North Star State," you had it pretty close.
But the motto is officially 'L'Etoile du Nord,' a French phrase that translates to "The Star of the North."
Our state is the only one in the country to have a motto in French. It's no wonder we settled on the English translation.
While having "L'Étoile du Nord" emblazoned on the back of Neal Broten's National Hockey League jersey would have been kind of cool, it doesn't roll off the tongue like "Minnesota North Stars."
The state's sole ownership of a French motto is thanks to Minnesota's first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, who likely used the French phrase — rather than Latin mottos favored by many states — in honor of the early French explorers.
Besides our official motto, we have had a number of unofficial designations.
In the early 1900s we were known as the "Wheat State" and "The Bread and Butter State," which were nods to Minnesota's major wheat production, flour milling and dairy production.
When we had more prairie and diverse farming, we had an abundance of striped gophers, thus "The Gopher State."
The term became entwined with University of Minnesota sports. In the '30s, legendary radio announcer Halsey Hall coined the term "Golden Gophers" in reference to the team's all-gold uniforms.
We were also known as the "New England of the West" early in our history, a reference to the many New England emigrants in Minnesota.
While "The Star of the North" still holds up pretty well after all these years, many states may benefit from a motto redo.
America's "In God We Trust" motto is emblazoned on our currency. Some have argued it should be changed as the country now has a wide range of religions. Teddy Roosevelt actually ordered that the phrase no longer be put on coins, but not because he thought it might be uncomfortable for those who don't believe in the Christian God. He dropped it because he thought it was a trivial use of "God" and near sacrilege. He also believed coins were used for ungodly activities like gambling and shouldn't carry God's name.
A site called BibleVerses101.com polled people in each state asking them what new motto they'd pick for their state.
Minnesotans chose "Where Waters Reflect the Future" as an alternative motto.
Not bad, I guess. A nod to our rich water resources and the heightened awareness of protecting water quality for future generations.
There are plenty of other alternatives:
"It's tater tot hotdish, not casserole" on our flag would save us time explaining to visitors that we don't have casseroles here.
"Minnesota — home of the passive-aggressives."
"It gets cold here, dontcha know."
"Land of 10,000 Petersons and 10,000 Johnsons."
"Not the best state, but at least we're not Wisconsin."
"Come for the walleye, stay for the lutefisk."
Still, I like "The Star of the North" or "North Star State" just fine, signifying our spot as the northernmost state in the contiguous United States.
Tim Krohn can be contacted at tkrohn@mankatofreepress.com or 507-720-1300.
