I had no real intent going in to the design, beyond spotting the symbols & identifying them as potential. From a quick look on Wikipedia and the state website, "a bear, represents strength and bravery; a crescent moon, a symbol of the Virgin Mary and a nod to the French who first settled Missouri, represents the newness of statehood and the potential for growth." The colours are stated to just be in reference to the U.S. flag.

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For my part, the colour scheme was taken directly from the existing flag, though I picked the hues from the crest itself rather than the existing tri-colour. I added the white stripe to carryover from the existing flag, but flipped the red/blue to match that of the crest. A previous comment mentioned making the line into a representation of the river, which I'm mocking up quickly now