In 2004, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson had an idea. The capital should hold a contest in which people would submit designs for a new city flag that would focus less on Utah’s Mormon history, be more inclusive and inspire pride.
The former flag had been designed in the early 1960s by high school students who favored a variety of images Utahns would recognize. It had pioneers, seagulls, covered wagons and a sun setting behind a mountain range. It was hand-drawn and difficult to replicate.
“I wasn’t trying to wipe Mormonism out of the flag,” Anderson said recently.