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Minnesota business sells newest tech from robotic dogs to drones
Maverick Drone Systems says its tech makes work easier for farmers and safer for first responders.
SAVAGE, Minn. — The latest technology is “taking off” from a Savage-based business and it’s being used for everything from agriculture to public safety.
Then again, some of it’s just for fun.
The Unitree Go1, for example, is a robotic dog that can roll over, follow humans, climb stairs and even dance. With cameras for eyes, the furless pups are manufactured in China and are sold locally at Maverick Drone Systems for around $4,500.
“It’s just a really fun toy,” marketing director Oscar Salinas said. “More of the consumer level, kind of show off to your friends that you got a nifty cool dog.”
As their name suggests, Maverick Drone Systems also sell drones. Agriculture sales representative Jay Sorg says their agricultural drones are making work more efficient for farmers.
“I grew up on a dairy farm in Hastings, Minnesota, and I still farm with my dad,” Sorg said. “So with farmers, say we get an inch of rain and you want to apply fungicide to go out there with a wheel, a wheeled machine, you don’t want to be on that field when it’s wet. So with this drone, you don’t have to be in the field. You’re above the field.”
Sorg says the drones can also save farmers money.
“Doing this yourself, versus paying a helicopter or plane to do your air application or hiring a ground rig from a co-op to do it, this machine pays for itself after you applicate 4,000 acres of fungicide,” he said. “We’ve had quite a few customers. You know, they buy one and they do their own, and then all of a sudden, they’re doing their neighbor’s and so it’s an opportunity for them to branch out and offer services to the community.”
The agricultural drones are in high demand. Their latest shipment brought 40 boxes of the newest model to the store.
“These weigh about 60, 75 pounds with the battery in them, empty, and then their max takeoff weight is 190 pounds,” Sorg said. “They treat you just like a crop duster, the FAA does, because you are technically an aircraft in the air.”
Maverick stocks replacement parts in store, with plans to offer repairs in the future. They already offer commercial drone repairs.
In addition to farmers, first responders are customers. Specifically, police departments are purchasing tactical drones.
“Pretty much all of the metro is using it now,” said Tony Caspers, the company’s new public safety director. “St. Paul Police just came on board.”
Caspers has a background in law enforcement. He says this type of technology can make certain situations safer for both law enforcement and the public.
“I retired just recently with 32 years and I served in the Minneapolis Police Department,” Caspers said. “The biggest thing with the drones is de-escalation, right? Instead of putting a police officer that’s armed in front of somebody that’s, you know, having a really bad day, they can come in with the drone.
“The other thing on this is also just efficiency of our job,” he continued. “You can actually map a crime scene down to the centimeter. So we’re no longer running tape measures and spending hours on a scene. We can take this out of the car crash, we can map and 3D map and print the whole car crash within 5 minutes instead of closing a freeway down for hours.”
And it turns out the robotic dog isn’t all play.
“It ranges from entry-level all the way up to tactical,” Salinas explained.
The tactical version can scan buildings like schools and memorize layouts, creating a ready-to-go map that could help during emergencies.
“So the robot dog … that’s going to be more inside and controlled environments where you can’t maybe fly,” Caspers said. “Just set the dog up and let it monitor something in a hallway. So now you have a camera sitting in a hallway and you can move it as you need to.”
“Not as cute [as a K9], but you don’t have to feed it or clean up after it.”
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According to the CDC, 40% of students experience sadness and hopelessness on a regular basis.
ST PAUL, Minn. — At this year’s Minnesota Educators’ Academy (MEA), the main focus was how to better students’ mental health. MEA is the largest development opportunity for educators in Minnesota, and gives teachers the opportunity to learn ways to improve in the classroom and handle the forever-changing needs of students.
“We need more counselors, we need more social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, people who really know their stuff,” said Education Minnesota President Denise Specht. “There are some schools that only have a counselor one day a week. We simply need more teams to address the needs.”
Specht also said having smaller class sizes would help teachers build stronger relationships with their students, potentially bettering their mental health.
According to the CDC, 40% of students experience sadness and hopelessness on a regular basis. Student teacher Caitlin Efta feels social media is playing a large part.
“There’s a lot of bullying and other things that happen online, and a lot of kids are just falling victim to that,” Efta said.
Minnesota’s 2024 teacher of the year Tracy Byrd says to improve students mental health, we need to take the stress off of them.
“Just by letting them know, relax, you are enough, you are okay,” Byrd said. “Don’t put too much pressure on this one assignment or this one test or this one book.”
Women’s Advocates opened in 1974 in St. Paul and is renovating 19 new apartment units to increase shelter space.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Women’s Advocates is considered the first shelter in the nation for survivors of domestic assault. It opened in St. Paul in 1974 and on Thursday, it’s hosting its 50th anniversary gala at the Landmark Center.
The tickets are sold out.
The organization is in the midst of a campaign to raise $14.25 million to acquire and renovate two new facilities in St. Paul to better serve the public. It includes 19 new individual apartment-style units totaling 58 beds for adults and children.
The space would also allow survivors to live with their pets 24/7, increase mental health support, and be ADA-compliant for all genders, sexualities, and abilities.
“It’s hard because we want to work ourselves out of a job, we want to be in a scenario where there’s not violence present in our community, but until we get there, we’re here as a support system for folks needing that,” said Executive Director Holly Henning.
Women’s Advocates currently serves about 50 adults and children, sometimes for three months at a time. It offers services ranging from mental and chemical health to legal advice and financial support.
The organization originally started as a hotline to guide people going through divorce.
“What they were finding when those calls were coming in was much different than, I just need a divorce,” said Henning. “It was folks who were in immediate danger and really needed help beyond that.”
Nowadays, the organization often has to turn people away. Other organizations actively work to find empty beds across the city for survivors in need. But Henning says, that sometimes, the violence people are experiencing is also more severe.
Violence Free Minnesota says that the 40 people killed in domestic violence situations last year is the most in more than three decades of record-keeping.
“It’s about compassion and empathy and I think it’s OK to have emotion, it’s OK to see people human to human and they’re continuously reminding you of why the work is so important,” said Henning.
Henning is also hoping to raise $125,000 during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you’d like to donate, you can find more information about the capital campaign here.
There’s also more information about services and ways to connect with someone through the Women’s Advocates 24/7 crisis resource hotline here.
The “Westopolis” name is meant to highlight the cities’ vibrancy and proximity to Minneapolis.
The marketing and tourism organization formerly known as Discover St. Louis Park has rebranded this fall with a bold, new name:
The organization, which launched in 2011 and grew to also incorporate Golden Valley in 2017, began using the “Westopolis” name this month. According to Westopolis President and CEO Becky Bakken, the name is designed to highlight the vibrancy and urban character of St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, which both border Minneapolis and have a combined population of nearly 75,000.
“A lot is behind the name,” Bakken said. “Westopolis just kept speaking to us. In this process, we really leaned into the fact that we are the closest neighbor to downtown Minneapolis. To be honest, we are closer to downtown than parts of Minneapolis are. And it really felt like our primary differentiator.”
Bakken said the change to “Westopolis” is also meant to help the organization communicate better with event planners and out-of-town vendors, who sometimes confuse “St. Louis Park” with St. Louis, MO. Between St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, the cities boast nine hotels with nearly 1,500 combined rooms, and the tourism organization now known as Westopolis plays a key role in drawing visitors and filling those rooms.
“When people are looking for a place to go, that aren’t from this area, they know the big city. They know Minneapolis. We wanted to make sure they knew how close we were to that, and once they’re here they discover all the other things,” Bakken said. “The name is unique, it’s different. It’s not on a map, we understand that. We think the name is edgy, and when we’re working with planners, they’re gonna lean in and say, ‘tell me more about this place.'”
This week, Westopolis is enjoying a nice boost from the Twin Cities Film Fest, a staple of St. Louis Park that draws talent and crew members to the city’s West End from across the country. It’s the kind of annual event that Westopolis would love to see more of in the coming years.
“The West End was sort of the rationale for why Discover St. Louis Park — and now Westopolis — exists. It’s this great area that is a real driver for visitors,” Bakken said. “But both communities have their thing. Golden Valley has a big chunk of Theodore Wirth that we love to claim, and Brookview that has a lot of outdoor activities, so we really like to lean into this urban oasis.”
To unveil the new brand, Westopolis rolled out a website and held a launch party this fall.
“Change is change, and that’s always interesting,” Bakken said, “but mostly people are really excited about the new name and we’re ready to market the new name.”
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