“The Progress of the State of Minnesota” is a quadriga, a type of sculpture involving four horses, a chariot, and one or more individuals, meant to symbolize grandiose or highly significant concepts or people. This one was made by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, and was finished and installed in 1906. It is made of steel and copper, with gold leaf.

The symbolism in 1906 is now somewhat outdated, and here we offer a new interpretation that closely uses the original concepts.

The chariot is being drawn by four horses, representing the four major non-fossil fuel types of energy we hope to use as our only sources by 2050: geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro-power. The two women represent American-based highly efficient zero-carbon industry and business (the woman on the left), and renewable, regenerative, and forever green agriculture (the woman on the right). The man in the chariot stands in for the state of Minnesota, and he carries a cornucopia, which represents our society of wealth and privilege, which the legislature, courts, and Governor carefully curate and put to use to make all Minnesotans equal parts in a broad based, humanitarian, society lacking want and uncertainty. He is non binary.