Metro news briefs: St. Paul, Ramsey County to start taking park facility reservations

St. Paul will begin taking park reservations Friday for picnics, shelters and pavilions, while Ramsey County this year is initiating a new program for facility reservations.

In St. Paul, city residents and businesses can pick up a lottery number from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Friday at the permit office, 1100 Hamline Av. N. Permits then will be issued at 6:31 a.m. to lottery customers first; after that, it will be first come, first served.

Residents and businesses from outside St. Paul may apply for permits starting Feb. 2. No phone reservations will be taken Friday.

In Ramsey County, there's no longer a wait to make facility reservations at the start of the year — they can be made up to 365 days in advance for private events, and up to 13 months in advance for public community events.

The county's picnic season runs May 2 to Sept. 27.

Reservations can be made by mail or in person at the county parks office, 2015 Van Dyke St., Maplewood, MN 55109 or by calling 651-748-2500 during business hours.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

Eligible youth interested in participating have until Feb. 18 to complete an application online.

Created in 2004, STEP-UP is one of the country's premiere youth employment programs. It is focused on serving Minneapolis youth ages 14-21 who face significant barriers to employment, such as coming from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, from recent immigrant families or have disabilities.

Since the program was launched, it has provided nearly 20,000 internship opportunities. STEP-UP also offers more advanced internships and training for specific industries. The idea is to help interns better link their potential careers with postsecondary education and career planning.

The interns receive work training certified by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce to enhance their skills and prepare them for a professional work experience.

Last summer, STEP-UP placed nearly 1,650 Minneapolis young people in jobs with over 230 Twin Cities businesses, public agencies and nonprofits.

Eden Prairie schools' Mosaic program for highly gifted students is expanding to third and seventh grade for the 2015-16 school year.

The Mosaic program provides challenging curriculum at an accelerated pace in a supportive educational environment.

Mosaic's new third-grade program will be offered at Prairie View and Forest Hills elementary schools. Both schools currently serve Mosaic students in grades four through six.

Applications are being accepted online at www.edenpr.org/Page/155. The due date for completed applications is Jan. 30.

Informational meetings for parents will be held Jan. 7 at Prairie View Elementary and Jan. 14 at Forest Hills Elementary. Both meetings will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the media center of each building.

KIM McGUIRE

Lakeville's 2015 street reconstruction project is a two-year phased plan that includes almost 8 miles of roadway, officials say.

The projects are located in each of the following developments:

Cedar Glen, Chapel Hills, Creek View Estates, Foxborough, Highview Hills, McNearny and Larson Addition, Southfork Center, Southfork Village and Tarry Creek. There's also a part of Hamburg Avenue between 202nd Street (County Road 50) and Hartford Way.