How the Minnesota state gemstone got on the license plate
The idea started in the simplest of spaces: just a father and his kids exchanging ideas in the car about the variety of new license plates on Minnesota’s roads. A rock enthusiast, Lars Leafblad ‘99 asked his kids, “What if the Lake Superior agate was on a license plate? How does that work?”
That was all it took. Leafblad reached out to his local Minnesota House Representative with a request to meet and discuss his idea: recognizing Minnesota’s official state gemstone, Lake Superior agate, on a license plate.
Rep. David Gottfried ‘15, DFL-District 40B, met with Leafblad and was impressed by the idea.
“This specialty license plate supports our Minnesota parks and trails, and gives owners unlimited access to Minnesota State Parks all year round!” Gottfried explains. “There are tens of thousands of agate enthusiasts in our state who make it a hobby to hunt and collect the rocks, which often becomes an intergenerational activity. With so many of these stones existing in our state parks, I thought it highly appropriate that the agate be put on a license plate that supports those parks.”
Unlike agates themselves, which take millions of years to form, support came quickly for a bill directing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to create a license plate design that would “celebrate the North Shore and the Lake Superior agate.” The measure drew bipartisan support.
“There was a strong push for a better design for the state parks and trails license plate, and Leafblad made a strong case for why the North Shore and Lake Superior agates would be an iconic choice to represent our parks and trails,” says Senator John Marty ‘78, DFL-District 40. “This is the type of legislation that can gain bipartisan support, even in times of polarization, and I was pleased to add my support for the effort.”
“The ‘Agate Plate Bill’ was highly uncontroversial from the start,” Gottfried says. “I think it enabled us to humanize each other. When speaking in favor of the bill, Representative [Roger] Skraba and I both incorporated some terrible puns that earned us some good-hearted groans; and maybe a couple of no votes. In the end, I think both parties were able to have fun with this bill!”
Representative Roger Skraba, R-District 3A, voiced his support for the bill on the House floor in April. “I rise in support [of this bill], not just for shift and giggles but for real support of the intent,” he said, using a play on words with “shift,” which is a geology term to describe the physical moving of rock layers. “I am glad that the district [Ely] I represent is going to be well-represented on the plate.”
To get support for the bill, Leafblad spoke with a bipartisan group of representatives across the state and testified at the capitol. The conversations and collaboration that moved the Lake Superior agate license plate from an idea to legislation offer a real-life example of the civic process at work. To move that work forward, he collaborated with Chris Tiedeman ‘98, a friend since their time on The Hill and seasoned public affairs professional who has been engaged in state and national campaigns. Tiedeman is an owner of Weber Johnson Public Affairs and served on the Republican National Committee as Minnesota’s National Committeeman. He says Leafblad’s approach illustrated the importance and effectiveness of having conversations.
“He had conversations with anyone and everyone without caring about their political label,” Tiedeman says. “It is helpful that rocks and minerals, much like agriculture and hockey, are a part of Minnesota’s past, present, and future.”
For Leafblad, one of many agate enthusiasts and a member of the Minnesota Mineral Club, having the state gemstone on a license plate represents something more personal: a family tradition of traveling to the North Shore and searching for Lake Superior agates.
“I think a lot of people can relate to going up to the North Shore and skipping rocks with loved ones while scanning the beach for agates,” he says. “And they are asking each other, ‘Is this an agate? Nope. That’s sandstone. Is this an agate? Nope. That’s quartz.’ The opportunity to pass on this tradition from my late grandparents, Jack and Sally Birk, who called Duluth home during my lifetime, to their great-grandchildren is the real gem.”
Leafblad continues, “The Lake Superior agate is over a billion years old, and we can find it sitting right out there on our beaches, shorelines, and gravel roads. I’m thrilled this public design contest and new plate celebrates a unique part of what makes Minnesota, Minnesota, while raising support for all of our state parks and trails — it’s a win-win-win situation and another example of why Minnesota rocks!”
“The Lake Superior agate is a symbol of the North Shore and the pride we share across northern Minnesota,” said Senator Grant Hauschild, who represents DFL-District 3, which includes the Arrowhead Region, North Shore, and Iron Range. “This new license plate and statewide design contest give Minnesotans a creative way to celebrate our region, support our natural resources, and help tell the story of what makes the Northland so special.”
The “agate bill,” HF3699/Chapter 57, passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz in May. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is holding a design contest, and the winning design will be announced in December, with entries accepted from September 15 through October 31, 2026. Minnesotans can submit designs for consideration for the new Lake Superior agate and North Shore-themed Minnesota state parks and trails license plate. Proceeds from the state parks and trails license plate sales support park operations and maintenance. Learn more about the design contest on the Minnesota DNR website.