Some mayors in Democrat-run Minnesota are rejecting an attempt to force them to fly the state’s redesigned flag which many have argued resembles the Somali national flag, Fox News reported Friday.
The news comes after the state drew much attention and criticism for massive alleged fraud linked to Somali-owned businesses.
“Members of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party pushed legislation Monday to reduce state aid to a county or city that ‘flies or otherwise makes use of a state flag other than the design of the state flag as certified in the report of the State Emblems Redesign Commission,’” the Fox article read.
If the law is passed, it would mean a 10 percent reduction in aid to cities or counties that fly a flag other than the state’s. “The cut in aid would take effect the year after the ‘incorrect flag’ is found to be flown by the municipality. The law would take effect starting in 2027,” Fox 9 reported Monday.
Earlier this year, Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas’s city voted in favor of using the original flag. He told Fox News it was a “ridiculous bill” and cutting funding for rejecting the updated flag would be a slap in the face to voters.
“The simple fact that they say they’re going to withhold any kind of funding from a city is absolutely ridiculous. That’s the people’s money. That’s the people’s taxes,” he commented.
Even though evidence of Somali-linked fraud was being uncovered in states including Minnesota, Democrats continued praising and supporting Somali migrants, Breitbart News reported in December. The outlet reported Tuesday that over 20 locations in Minneapolis were raided as federal authorities cracked down on the alleged fraud in the Somalian community’s businesses. Those locations included childcare facilities registered with the state that were accused of billing for care and services they did not provide.
The crackdown happened after citizen journalist Nick Shirley drew attention to the issue in his reporting:
In regard to the controversy over the Minnesota state flag’s redesign, Elk River Mayor John Dietz told KARE this week that large numbers of constituents have voiced their opposition.
“Several people that came to speak at our city hall compared it to the Somali flag, and that was a very big issue of why they disliked it,” Dietz commented.
According to Alpha News, Elk River recently approved flying the original state flag after 75 percent of residents said they were in favor of it:
Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeet (R) told Fox News he was pleased to see local leaders fighting the bill, calling it an “overreach of power,” while Sabas also criticized Democrats for the move.
He said, “These folks, they want to talk about big picture politics and Donald Trump and No Kings rallies, they’re acting like kings right now because things aren’t going exactly how they want, so they want to pass a lot of punishments. It seems absolutely just out of bounds and crazy.”
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