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• During the 1963 legislative session, Rep. William Sahr of Pierre introduced a bill to modify the state flag. The new one-sided flag kept a sun with a serrated edge on a field of sky blue but placed the state seal inside the sun. Around the sun were the words "South Dakota" and "The Sunshine State."
• The state's banner was again revised in 1992, when the Legislature approved changing the wording on the flag to read "The Mount Rushmore State" instead of "The Sunshine State." This reflected a change in the state nickname.
• The legislation for both the 1963 and 1992 changes contained a provision that any previous flags made in conformance with state law were to remain official state flags. That means that it is legal to use any of the three official state flags.
• Not everyone likes our state flag. The North American Vexillological Association, an association of flag experts, ranked South Dakota's flag as one of the five worst in North America in 2001.
• During the 2012 legislative session, a bill to adopt a flag designed by Spearfish artist Dick Termes was introduced. This design featured a sunburst, an American Indian medicine wheel and concentric blue circles. A House committee rejected the call to look at revising the flag.
• This moment in South Dakota history is provided by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Find us on the web at www.sdhsf.org. Contact us at info@sdhsf.org to submit a story idea.