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Minnesota company helps produce electric-powered firetrucks

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Minnesota company helps produce electric-powered firetrucks


WYOMING, Minn. — The sprawling Rosenbauer campus nestled in Wyoming, Minnesota is filled with hundreds of employees customizing massive rigs that will be sent around the world, but you’ll also find something a little more subtle.

“When we came up with our idea of what we wanted the future to look like this is kind of what we came up with,” demo specialist Zach Paul said.

Their electric-powered firetruck is already on the road in Los Angeles and Vancouver. California and Canada will each get one more, and then it’s Minnesota’s turn. St. Paul will hopefully be the fifth.

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It doesn’t have the rumble of a traditional red rig.

“We get a lot of grief sometimes that this does not look like a normal firetruck. It’s new. It’s different. As soon as they get their hands on this thing, they completely change their mind,” Paul said.

Traditional firetrucks cost anywhere between $900,000 to $1.3 million. The RTX is nearly double at $1.85 million — but it opens up funding options from cities and governments pushing to cut emissions.

MORE NEWS: Minnesota State Troopers make special life-saving delivery

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The sticker price also comes with safety upgrades, like a lower profile height option that Paul says is a game changer.

“It helps firefighters reduce injuries, helps with knee problems, back problems,” Paul said.

Digital mirrors are an important second set of eyes and powerful hose pressure options can help conserve water.

The RTX can go 100-150 miles give or take on a single charge, but if you’re wondering about those busy days when the rig is going from call to call, there’s a backup energy system that’s diesel-powered that can refuel the vehicle so firefighters can keep going.

Paul says the Los Angeles Fire Department can go weeks without refilling their backup diesel supply that recharges the battery on the go — a huge improvement from current standards.

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“We get one-and-a-half to, if we’re lucky, three miles per gallon on a normal firetruck,” Paul said.

Workers in the U.S. put the final finishes on the EV shell that’s made in Europe. But if demand picks up, that could change.

The long-term goal is to have an EV firetruck production facility in Minnesota —  paving a path for more green jobs and a made-in-Minnesota product that can help serve communities and save our warming planet.

Paul says their goal this year is to sell 15 RTX trucks. He estimates there are a dozen on the roads in Europe right now.

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Obituary for Marcie Moe at Johnson Funeral Service

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Obituary for Marcie  Moe at Johnson Funeral Service


Marcie Lee Moe age 65, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, formerly of Grygla, MN, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. Born on December 10, 1959 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Marcie was the beloved daughter of Adrian Severance Johnson and Edna Irene Christianson Johnson. Marcie was baptized at St.



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5 key takeaways from Minnesota’s loss to Stanford at the Acrisure Invitational

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5 key takeaways from Minnesota’s loss to Stanford at the Acrisure Invitational


Minnesota began its Acrisure Invitational journey with some great energy against Stanford, but an injury to starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. was too much to overcome in a hard-fought 72-68 loss. Here’s what we learned.

Minnesota has been without North Dakota transfer BJ Omot and Maryland transfer Chance Stephens in every regular-season game, while starting big man Robert Vaihola missed his second straight game on Thursday with a knee injury. Things got even more scarce after two early fouls sent Willis to the bench, and he came out of the locker room with a boot on his right ankle.

The Gophers were already not a very deep team, so taking away four rotational players is a massive issue for Niko Medved and a rebuilding program.

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With Vaihola out for the second straight game due to a knee injury, Minnesota slid Grove into the starting lineup for the first time in his college career. Nehemiah Turner did not see the floor after starting last week’s loss to San Francisco, and it was an eight-man rotation.

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The Gophers coughed up 14 turnovers on Thursday night, compared to only eight for Stanford. The biggest difference was that Minnesota’s turnovers resulted in 27 Cardinal points. It’s hard to point to any other stat as the largest factor in Thursday’s result.

Reynolds was the first player off the bench for Minnesota, and he provided some serious energy to begin Thursday night’s game. He had a career-high 16 points in last week’s loss to San Francisco, and it looked like he would remain at that level against Stanford, but he struggled in the second half with six points, six rebounds, four assists and six turnovers on the night.

Asuma generated all the headlines when he opted to stay with the Gophers through the coaching change, but Grove also returned after redshirting last season. The 6-foot-9 big man from Alexandria, Minnesota, got the biggest opportunity of his college career against Stanford. He finished with five points and one rebound in 19 minutes. Medved opted to roll with Durkin in the closing lineup.

The Gophers will face Santa Clara on Friday night in the consolation game of the Acrisure Invitational.



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Stanford Cardinal play the Minnesota Golden Gophers

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Stanford Cardinal play the Minnesota Golden Gophers


Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-2) vs. Stanford Cardinal (4-1)

Palm Desert, California; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cardinal -1.5; over/under is 142.5

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BOTTOM LINE: Stanford takes on Minnesota at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California.

The Cardinal have a 4-1 record in non-conference games. Stanford scores 83.8 points while outscoring opponents by 12.2 points per game.

The Golden Gophers have a 4-2 record against non-conference oppponents. Minnesota ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 11.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Jaylen Crocker-Johnson averaging 3.3.

Stanford averages 7.8 made 3-pointers per game, 1.0 more made shot than the 6.8 per game Minnesota gives up. Minnesota averages 74.2 points per game, 2.6 more than the 71.6 Stanford gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ebuka Okorie is shooting 52.1% and averaging 23.8 points for the Cardinal. Benny Gealer is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers.

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Cade Tyson is scoring 21.8 points per game and averaging 4.3 rebounds for the Golden Gophers. Crocker-Johnson is averaging 11.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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