Mayoral race decided by random drawing after candidates each received 1,401 votes

SPRING LAKE PARK, Minn. (KARE) — Mayor Bob Nelson’s name was selected in a drawing Monday after he and challenger Halyn Roth each received 1,401 votes in the Spring Lake Park mayoral race.

The drawing was held in the city council chambers, where a council member selected one of two identical canisters from a bag. Each canister contained a paper with a candidate’s name.

The drawing selected Nelson, the incumbent, but Roth has filed for a recount. The final result remains unsettled.

Roth is running for public office for the first time.