JANUARY 22, 2026 — In Wyoming, the Rock Springs City Council has officially adopted a new flag, reports SweetwaterNOW.
In a majority vote held Tuesday, the council approved a design created by high school student Brandon Swigart, despite a vocal and disparaging dissent from Councilman Rick Milonas.
The new ensign features a horizontal tricolour layout of yellow and green, with a blue trapezoidal section at the hoist intended to represent the silhouette of Pilot Butte when viewed vertically. Two stars, one five-pointed and one six-pointed, symbolize the 56 nationalities that comprise the city’s heritage.
While the colours were derived from the city’s existing corporate logo, the design’s aesthetic and symbolic choices became the focal point of a heated debate regarding decorum and the role of public criticism in community projects.
The controversy was largely fuelled by a social media video published by Councilman Milonas ahead of the vote. In the video, titled “Rock Springs, Somalia,” Milonas characterized the artwork as “butt-ugly” and “embarrassing.”
During the council meeting, Milonas defended his rhetoric, asserting that his criticisms were directed at the flag’s appearance rather than the student designer. He cited the high viewership of his video as evidence of community dissatisfaction and questioned the broader direction of the city’s branding.
However, the majority of the council reacted with visible frustration to Milonas’s approach. According to the Rocket Miner, Mayor Max Mickelson issued a formal apology to Swigart and his family, stating that the student had been treated unfairly after participating in good faith in a city-sanctioned contest.
Mickelson, who personally funded the $250 prize for the competition to minimize the cost to taxpayers, accused Milonas of misrepresenting the facts of the selection process and damaging the city’s efforts to retain its younger population.
The resolution designates Swigart’s design as the sole official flag of Rock Springs, retiring all previous versions.
Image: City of Rock Springs
