North metro town briefs

Workers are installing highway barriers Nighttime drivers may encounter occasional lane or shoulder closures along Hwy. 10 in Anoka and Coon Rapids as workers install more than 3.5 miles of cable median barrier. Once that work is completed, crews will begin work to install 3.5 miles of barrier along Hwy. 252 from Interstate 694 to Hwy. 610 in Brooklyn Park. Both projects are scheduled for completion in mid-December. Statewide, an average of 15 people die in cross-median crashes on four-lane divided highways, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Cemetery tours tell stories of 'silent cities' They are Anoka County's "silent cities" -- cemeteries that tell stories that shaped the county.

Local historian Vickie Wendel will lead the Anoka County Historical Society's Monument to Life cemetery tours, beginning Thursday at Glen Cary Cemetery in Ham Lake. Saturday's tour will take visitors to St. Francis Cemetery in St. Francis, and Tuesday's tour will be at Calvary Cemetery in Anoka.

Tickets must be purchased in advance through the Anoka County Historical Society. The cost for each tour is $8, and a package for all three tours is $21. Tours begin at 7 p.m. For more information call, 763-421-0600.

Take walk through 1884 schoolhouse An 1884 schoolhouse has been renovated, relocated and will be open for inspection Oct. 22.

The schoolhouse of District 50 was used until 1922, when schools were consolidated. The building was then abandoned and sold to Roy Hodson for $100. He moved it by sleigh to the south side of the railroad tracks on Northdale Boulevard.

Mary T. Inc. saved the schoolhouse from demolition and relocated it to the Mary T. campus in Coon Rapids two years ago. The schoolhouse is located at 11703 Xeon Blvd., by Northdale Boulevard. The Oct. 22 open house is from 4 to 7 p.m.

Get hands-on at the Apple Cider Festival What better way to toast the fall apple season than learning how apple cider is made? Contribute an apple or two and take a turn at the cider press crank on Sunday at the annual Apple Cider Festival.

The festival will be held 1 to 3 p.m. at Wargo Nature Center in the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park Reserve, 7701 Main St., in Lino Lakes. Admission is $4. Register at www.anokacountyparks.com or call 651-429-8007.

Traffic rerouted for road construction Traffic from Old Hwy. 8 will be rerouted onto 14th Street and 1st Avenue NW. so workers can complete construction on the New Brighton thoroughfare. The closure will remain effective until Nov. 1.

City Council hopefuls hold debate, forum A debate among New Hope City Council candidates will be held on Oct. 23 at the Broadway Village Apartments, 6046 W. Broadway Av. in New Hope. Mayor Martin Opem will face opponent Kathi Hemken. Six candidates running for three council seats will also square off. The debates begin at 6 p.m.

The same candidates will meet in a forum at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Av. N.

Two teens in running for scholarships Two north metro teens have been named semifinalists in the 2009 National Achievement Scholarship Program competition. Pilar M. Ingram of Champlin Park High School and Danait Mengist-Teklay of St. Anthony Village High School are among 1,600 students nationally designated as semifinalists in the program to provide recognition and scholarships to academically outstanding black students. The competition is carried out by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.