New sesquicentennial license plates unveiled

by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio

Minnesota's new sesquicentennial license plate was unveiled today in Duluth.

Duluth, Minn. — The light blue plates come with the red white and blue sesquicentennial logo on the left, and the words "Star of the North Sesquicentennial" printed across the bottom.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says the new plates help tie the past with the future.

"What's been great about the way the commission has organized this whole year -- it's been aimed at both looking backwards and being appreciative of the gifts that we've gotten from those that have come before us," said Ritchie. "But it's really focused on what we can do to look forward, so that we are planning and investing, and making a future that our children, and their children, and their children will be proud of and will remember."

The plates will be sold for the next three years, at a one-time cost of $35, on top of annual registration fees. Twenty-five dollars of the $35 fee will help pay for the state's 150th birthday celebration.

Once the celebration is paid for, the proceeds would help pay for restoration of the state Capitol.