diff --git a/aimmo_runner/runner.py b/aimmo_runner/runner.py
index 3237a2c54..87c6936b8 100644
--- a/aimmo_runner/runner.py
+++ b/aimmo_runner/runner.py
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ def run(use_minikube, use_vagrant=False, server_wait=True, capture_output=False,
         run_command(['python', _MANAGE_PY, 'migrate', '--noinput'], capture_output=capture_output)
         run_command(['python', _MANAGE_PY, 'collectstatic', '--noinput'], capture_output=capture_output)
 
+    django.setup()
     create_superuser_if_missing(username='admin', password='admin')
 
     if use_minikube:
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 9e2132b6b..184c200f9 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
     packages=find_packages(),
     include_package_data=True,
     install_requires=[
-        'django >= 1.8.3, < 1.9.0',
+        'django >= 1.8.3, < 1.9.13',
         'django-autoconfig >= 0.3.6, < 1.0.0',
         'django-forms-bootstrap',
         'django-js-reverse',
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
         'psutil >= 5.4, < 5.5',
     ],
     tests_require=[
-        'django-setuptest',
+        'django-setuptest==0.2.1',
         'httmock',
         'mock == 2.0.0',
         'docker == 2.7.0',