Ramsey County has designated two overnight winter warming spaces for the homeless, which will be supported by the county’s free shuttle van service and accessible on a walk-in basis. As of Wednesday, Catholic Charities’ Saint Paul Opportunity Center at 422 Dorothy Day Place is the county’s official overnight location for single adults and couples.

On Dec. 1, Central Baptist Church at 420 N. Roy St. in Saint Paul will begin accepting families and young people ages 14 to 24 overnight.

The warming space locations will remain open every night from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. through the end of March, offering seating, blankets, light snacks and hot beverages such as hot cocoa and coffee. Warming essentials like hats and gloves also will be provided to those in need of cold weather supplies, according to a written announcement from Ramsey County.

The county has extended its hours from last year, when warming spaces opened at 9:30 p.m. nightly and closed at 6:30 a.m.

The warming spaces are opening two weeks earlier than last year and have added a month at the end of the season to accommodate any lingering cold temperatures.

When Melisa Christensen first hopped on a kicksled and slid happily across a frozen pond in West Saint Paul, she thought to herself, “Why isn’t everyone in Minnesota doing this?”

Three years after that first ride, Christensen opened her own kicksled shop in downtown Saint Paul this week, called Brave the Snow, to share that childlike joy with others.

First things first, what is a kicksled? Christensen describes it as a miniature dog sled that you stand on the back of and kick like a scooter. Kicksleds also have a small bench in front for a child or small person to sit on.

As for the learning curve, “Anybody can do it,” Christensen said, “It’s less intimidating because you don’t have to strap on special boots or have any equipment.”

When a downtown Saint Paul building owner fails to remove graffiti, pick up litter or fix a broken window in the skyway, city officials find they have precious few tools to force better property management.

“Most of them are doing phenomenal jobs, and when that’s not happening, we need to be able to do more than send a letter,” said Saint Paul Council Member Rebecca Noecker, in an interview Wednesday. “We can take them to criminal court, but that takes years to assemble the evidence, get into court and get a determination. It’s not an effective tool when we’re talking about stained carpet, graffiti, broken windows, litter. It just doesn’t make sense.”

A stop in downtown Saint Paul isn't complete — not if you have a sweet tooth — without ducking into Candyland. Founded in 1932 and purchased by Brenda Lamb's family in 1981, the tiny shop at 435 N. Wabasha St. is an intoxicating blend of sweet scents and mouth-watering displays.

Eye On Saint Paul stopped by recently and talked to Lamb about the past, present and future of Candyland.