Voters will continue to select the Ramsey County sheriff, thanks to a tie vote Monday night at the Ramsey County Charter Commission. Under consideration was a proposal to put a question on the November ballot that would ask voters to decide if the sheriff's job should be appointed, rather than elected, as it now is.

The 8-8 vote was much closer than I'd expected. When I wrote about this issue several months ago, there didn't seem to be much public outcry for changing the system. I figured it might just go away.

But then my friend Curt Brown at the Star Tribune wrote a profile of longtime — and often controversial — Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who — no surprise — likes getting elected and opposes the proposed change. The big story made me wonder if maybe the Charter Commission just might approve the ballot question. — Joe Kimball