I headed to the scene and spoke to neighbors who witnessed this fire firsthand It was an infernal blaze,” says Rose Sumner I was standing hundreds of feet away,” followed her husband Dale and Rose Sumner live right behind the home that caught fire Saturday night “I looked out my kitchen window which faces directly toward this house Rose and Dale ran outside as Rose called 911 and Dale recorded shocking video on his phone Electrical lines disconnected from the house and hit the ground The home is located off 6th Street in Manhattan right in between the Manhattan Police Department and Manhattan Fire Department The house was fully engulfed when we got here,” says Manhattan Fire Chief Mike Ulmen I met up with Ulmen in front of what remains of the home The smell of ash and smoke still filled the air This is where it started,” says Ulmen as he showed me the damage He told me about the firefighters' eight-hour battle with this fire It got up into the attic and above the ceiling and the peak of the roof With help from Three Forks and Amsterdam fire departments The cause of the fire is still under investigation He was actually here first because he was on patrol And we’re investigating what that was,” says Ulmen Ulmen tells me the family in the home were all able to get out safely A neighbor across the street is housing them for the night Eyewitnesses also claim the family's 2 dogs and cat were rescued by brave passersby while the house was still engulfed in flames With no injuries and minimal damage to surrounding homes there's one word Ulmen was feeling this morning: “Proud who feel for the family who lost their home just 3 days after Christmas—the words that come to their mind Our hearts go out to them” say Rose and Dale Sumner who is running for Minnesota House of Representatives District 22A speaks to a gathering Monday evening at the Martin County DFL Picnic at Gomsrud Park in Fairmont FAIRMONT– On Monday evening the Martin County Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party gathered at Gomsrud Park in Fairmont for a family-style potluck picnic and to hear from local candidates running in the 2024 election This was just the second year in recent years that the Martin County DFL has put on a picnic but chairman Karen McConnell said they are already planning the next one as she would like to keep up with it consistently in election years McConnell brought a sign up sheet to gather contact information for the roughly two dozen people present so that she can everyone in the loop on upcoming local events “My goal is to let people know that yes there is a Democratic party in Martin County There’s 3,000 people who vote with us in Martin County in almost every election,” McConnell said She asked those present to consider signing up to volunteer at the booth at the upcoming Martin County Fair as well who is running for Minnesota House of Representatives District 21B covers Trimont and the four northwestern townships of Martin County who is originally from the area and is a 1990 graduate of Fairmont High School Wilson detailed some of his education and work experience which included graduating from Grand View College with a political science degree After working some odd jobs including selling cars in Fairmont Wilson went back to school to earn his teaching degree He actually served on the Fairmont School Board from 2000 to 2005 before moving to Mound for a teaching job “Then luckily I found a teaching job in St James and that’s where I’ve been the last 18 years teaching government and history for the most part,” Wilson said he does some baseball and football coaching and in 2022 he decided to run for mayor of St James and won as a write-in candidate with over 60 percent of the votes Wilson shared that he was compelled to run after meeting his opponent incumbent Representative Marj Fogelman (R) and feeling disappointed with her representation “I’ve done a lot of things in the last year and a half in St James for our town and I’m hoping to do that basically for everyone else in the state of Minnesota,” Wilson said who is running against incumbent Representative Bjorn Olson (R) for the Minnesota House of Representatives District 22A seat Ulmen was born and raised in Madelia and after moving away for a time “I’m a fifth generation farmer… raise livestock and farm,” Ulmen said She shared that she is the only farmer running as a Democrat this year in the entire state of Minnesota Ulmen said she would like to help small farmers have access to markets “That’s why we’re seeing so many small farmers get out of the business– we’re losing 500 farm families in Minnesota every year we’re losing the families who used to live on those farms and we’re seeing those farm places bulldozed over so a farmer can have another five acres of land,” Ulmen said Ulmen said it’s an issue because as those families leave small towns the school districts lose students and the businesses lose revenue with the absence of people “This is how we end up with a town of about 1,000 people like Truman that doesn’t have a grocery store,” Ulmen said She gave advice to those present who may be looking for a talking point with their friends or neighbors and brought up the new Free School Meals bill that went into law last year in Minnesota “I was one of those kids growing up on free and reduced lunch and I had a lunch ticket that was a different color… no kid is ever going to have to go through that in Minnesota again and that’s because of Democrats– you can’t be against that,” Ulmen said Ulmen said that Democrats have always been pretty quiet but that she thinks they have a lot to be proud of and she encouraged those present to engage in conversation and to vote She and McConnell also spoke about the importance of getting involved and taking part in events such as local parades “I ran two years ago… and in the Madelia parade we had five walkers 28 walkers and they were loud,” Ulmen said “People are tired of being the quiet Democrats on the side.” As more general conversation about the upcoming election began McConnell offered some words of encouragement “You need to turn your worry into work and as Julie Blaha You can’t start these discussions at the top of the ticket Find out what your neighbors care about– that’s a local issue and talk to them about how Jon and Marisa are the ones who can deal with those issues,” McConnell said a representative was there on her behalf with yard signs Bohman is running as a Democrat in Minnesota’s First Congressional District CEYLON — A communion service at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Ceylon will be at 5:30 p.m FAIRMONT—Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont is offering a support group for families of children with .. WELCOME — The Welcome Historical Society Museum will be open from 2 to 4 p.m TRUMAN — It's Scholastic Book Fair time at the Truman Public School Library Copyright © 2025 Ogden Newspapers of Minnesota | https://www.fairmontsentinel.com | 64 Downtown Plaza Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Mankato.  Visitation will be from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m Sunday at the Mortuary.  Memorials are preferred to the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance 1974 to Steven and Ida (Hall) Ulmen in Mankato he developed a seizure disorder for which he was placed on barbituates which helped control the seizures but which produced many and the Institute for Reading Development at Good Counsel intervened to help out Matt’s disorder was identified as Tuberous Sclerosis by the Mayo Clinic After his 18th birthday he applied for and was granted a disability stipend Matt traveled with his family for employment purposes His classroom behavior and grades improved significantly by high school He enrolled in some post graduate training which he pursued for a short time  In response to a request for assistance from a mother he met online Washington in about 1998 and helped with parenting and financial assistance His performance in Washington is best described by Shillanda Shaver It is with a heavy heart that I wish a very close family friend and a wonderful person farewell today you were without a doubt a huge part of me and my family’s life Thanks for the rides to school those mornings And for watching my brother and I at the pool those hot summer days when no one else would Thanks for helping me deliver newspapers at 2:30 a.m Thanks for stepping up and putting yourself out there for my family You introduced me to Charles Shultz and NPR I don’t think I ever really told you that I hope you are on stage acting with snoopy and all your favorites Matthew returned to Mankato to help out his parents in their retirement He worked at Guenther’s café until it closed secured seasonal employment at Buy Fun where he worked part time until the time of his death with the Merely Players and various online gaming groups remained close to family and the Orness community He took up karaoke and trivia and joined the free thinker’s group He often could be found enjoying a cup of joe at the Coffee Haag He was no stranger to the Dork Den and Double Play He also took a shine to poetry and short story writing as a leisure time activity and liked to be a helper and to please others He was quite a computer and technology whiz and fixed his dad’s computer on numerous occasions His driver’s license said he was an organ donor you were a wonderful and inspirational supporter of friends and family You made your mother and father very proud of you Dad says he hopes you enjoy eternity in your version of San Junipero Our thanks to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department and all others who helped and lent support at this time  He was preceded in death by grandparents This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Child Trends prepared this report in August 2021 for internal use by The Heinz Endowments and its prenatal-to-three partners in Allegheny County We are now releasing the report publicly to inform prenatal-to-three efforts nationwide The Heinz Endowments has partnered with Child Trends a national research organization focused on child and family well-being to create Prenatal-to-Three (PN-3) resources and tools These tools aim to contribute to a PN-3 system in Allegheny County Pennsylvania that equitably supports all families with children from pregnancy to age three across multiple domains of well-being This work was informed by over 30 stakeholder interviews in Allegheny County roundtables of early care and education directors and a public forum in which child care providers and parents in Allegheny County were participating Illustrative quotes from these interviews and roundtable discussions are provided throughout this brief Wilkinson, A., Padilla, C.M., Andrews, K., Ulmen, K., Carney, M., Hilty, R., & Tout, K. (2021). Prenatal-to-Three in Allegheny County. Child Trends. https://doi.org/10.56417/5779f5179g If Sandy Ulmen and Marie Voeller-Sutich’s combined careers were a person she would have packed up and moved to Florida by now The pair of waitresses have been carrying plates and pouring coffee for a grand total of 77 years at Great Falls’ JB’s Restaurant Voeller-Sutich passes the 40-year milestone this year meaning the two have worked together for Ulmen’s entire 37-year tenure “I’m the gabber and she’s the mover,” said Ulmen “Why go to a gym when you can waitress?” Marie replied Being in each other’s lives for so long means they’ve shared much more than a workplace and a few tips “Our lives just keep seeming to echo each other,” said Voeller-Sutich Both started at JB’s as a walk-in who needed a job Both have family members who’ve worked with them at the restaurant quick wit and a gift for turning customers into friends And based on the decades they’ve worked they both share a special love for waitressing “Sandy and I believe in taking care of the customer and that’s probably why they keep coming back,” said Voeller-Sutich “It’s hard not all the coincidences in Voeller-Sutich and Ulmen’s lives have been happy ones having JB’s and each other helped them pull through that was my support system,” she recalled “I just threw myself into work.” Ulmen’s daughter developed an enlarged heart and passed away six months after giving birth “We followed her around this restaurant in case she broke down and we were there to help her up,” said Voeller-Sutich “We’d take care of her customers until she got herself together and we were there in case she needed us.” “It means a lot because there’s times you come and you need somebody to talk to and you’ve got somebody who understands you and knows what you’re going through,” said Ulmen Both of Ulman’s children had worked at JB’s and her daughter was employed there when she passed away our boss at the time was even going to close the restaurant down and have the reception here.” Having someone who knew the pain of such an enormous loss cemented the two women’s friendship but the relationships they’ve developed with their customers are the main reason they’ve stayed at JB’s so long “We love our customers,” said Ulmen “Marie has people that ask for her section The restaurant’s regulars give Ulmen and Voeller-Sutich a chance to take the support they’ve received and pay it forward Ulmen found out he was having some health issues and had to have a CAT scan tell me if they find any cats,” she joked the man came in to tell her what the interaction meant to him on a very stressful day in his life and I needed that,’” said Ulmen The restaurant even helped Voeller-Sutich start her family She met her husband while she was on the job “He delivered laundry here for National Laundry,” she said and there’s not a shift or position that Ulmen and Voeller-Sutich haven’t worked They’ve been through several remodels and more than half a dozen different managers  “Sandy and I have been here so long that we have our initials on the sidewalk outside,” said Voeller-Sutich When 10th Avenue South was widened and the marks were wiped out the two ladies went right back out and put them back “We’ve been through our ups and downs,” said Ulmen “but we’ve kind of always had each other’s backs.” “There’s times that when we look back we wish that we’d taken more time off for our kids when they were little,” said Voeller-Sutich “but we felt like we needed to be here.” both women work the day shift Monday through Friday and let the rookies take the weekends and holidays Neither of them has any plans to retire anytime soon “I don’t know if I’d have stayed here as long as I have if it wasn’t for the customers,” said Voeller-Sutich “Being here as long as we’ve been The little kids that we’ve waited on have grown up and had kids of their own.” “As long as these arms keep moving and these legs keep moving I’m going to keep doing it,” said Ulmen at Country Villa Assisted Living in Little Chute.  She was born on November 30 to George and Cecilia (Vandenberg) Rooyakkers.  On May 24 Ceil worked at the Kimberly Mill as a paper sorter.  Other jobs included working in the deli at Gordy’s Food Fair in Little Chute and demonstrating food samples for various stores.  Ceil was a very sociable person.  She was involved with Holy Angels/Spirit Parish including working the school lunch program serving on the Christian Mother’s Society and other parish committees helping with funeral dinners and singing in the Angel Choir.  She also enjoyed bowling league card club and salad luncheons with neighbors.  Jane (Leo) Uitenbroek and Linda (Lee) Schiedermayer and Heidi (Casey) Johnson.  She is further survived by her great-grandchildren   Meredith father & mother in-law Martin & Alice McCormick sister-in-law Bernice McCormick and numerous nieces & nephews.   She was the last surviving member of her immediate family of 13; preceded in death by her brothers Peter and Leo Rooyakers.  Also preceding her were sisters Cora (Carl) Ulmen She is survived by sister-in-law and caring friend Mary Jo Rooyakkers The McCormicks (her husband’s family) Racine Dominican Sisters Alice & Patricia nephews and friends along with her special friend who resided with her at Country Villa Assisted Living 2024 at Holy Spirit Parish – Darboy Campus with Father Carl Schmitt officiating.  There will be a visitation at the church from 9:00 a.m until the time of services.  Interment will be in Holy Angels Cemetery The family would like to thank Moments Hospice for their compassionate personal care and Country Villa Assisted living for all the services they provided for Ceil Nancy earned her angel’s wings and joined the Lord waiting with open arms in heaven Nancy died at home surrounded by her loving family after an 85-day vicious battle with stage 4 Pancreatic cancer WI to Joseph and Dorothy (Gavronski) Ulmen Nancy was the matriarch of 5 sisters and 1 brother Philip Catholic Grade school in Green Bay in 1965 and then from Green Bay Preble Public High School in 1969 Her first employment was for Murphy Insurance in Green Bay Later she enrolled at NWTC Green Bay Campus to earn her LPN in nursing in 1971 where she started at St she graduated from Bellin College of Nursing to be rewarded her RN certificate while also working in pediatrics In December of 1977 she married Dave at St she became a mother to her 3 children: Matt In 1997 Nancy was awarded her Bachelor of Nursing from UWGB and over the course of a few years she received her Specialty Certification in Infection Control Management and Later became the Coordinator of the Infection Control Department at St Nancy was also awarded the Outstanding Clinical Practice Achievement Award through the Kappa Pi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau All her nursing expertise and career was performed with St She finally retired after 42 years in 2013 the same year her and Dave sold their home in Green Bay and moved north to Woodruff Nancy enjoyed her leisurely walks thru the neighborhood and especially the Raven Nature Trail; picking blackberries knitting prayer shawls for Holy Family Catholic Church and every Monday night attended snowshoe baseball in Lake Tomahawk For the past 8 years Nancy and Dave spent February and March in Glendale Arizona where they met and made many new friends Nancy is survived by Dave of 44 years and 3 children Matt of Manitowish Waters Katie and Fiancé Stephan Rencontre of Minocqua and by her #1 grandson Noah also of Minocqua Peggy (Mike) Nemetz of Wausaukee and a very dear friend whom she considered a sister Nancy is also survived by sister and brother-in-law Nancy and Roger VandenLangenberg and brother and sister-in-law Ken and Suzy VanderLoop all Green Bay Nancy was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Dorothy Ulmen and a brother Mike Ulmen and sister in law Diane VanderLoop One of Nancy’s biggest fears was if she would ever be able to knit again and I would reassure her absolutely I can picture her sitting on the couch watching Heartland and knitting up a storm Donations will be divided between Lakeland Community Gardens and Holy Family Catholic Church Prayer Shawl unless otherwise specified A special Thank You goes out to Father Jerry Pastor of Holy Family all the people who donated food or visited Nancy and Dave’s family along with Jane for their willingness to lend a hand You could see the joy in her eyes when they frequently stopped for a visit Compassus Hospice for your assistance and care and Dr Yasar in caring for Nancy at MCHS Oncology Nancy always said after all this country’s turmoil over the years that she only believed in heaven After witnessing what she went through these past 85 days Funeral Mass for Nancy will be held on Friday September 9th at 11:00 am with a Memorial Gathering from 9:30 am till time of service at Holy Family Catholic Church in Woodruff Online condolences may be shared at nimsgernfuneral.com NIMSGERN FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES IS SERVING THE FAMILY Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text Download Report Watch the Webinar Download Webinar Slides Key Findings The following maps and profiles provide an overview of states’ capacities to access data on children and workforce members and to coordinate and link data about preschool programs please click on individual states for their full profiles States without a profile did not complete the survey Administrative data were used to generate data for the following states: Delaware This research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Its findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Suggested citation: Amadon, S., Tang, J., Richards, K., Ulmen, K., Guerra, G., Ball, J., Maxfield, E., King, C., & Richards, D. (2023). 2023 data capacity of state-funded pre-K programs across the United States. Child Trends. https://doi.org/10.56417/4813w330c ChildTrends12300 Twinbrook Parkway Suite 235 Rockville MD 20852240.223.9200© Copyright 2025 ChildTrendsPrivacy Statement The electric skateboard startup has struggled by Sean O'Kane It’s unclear exactly how many were laid off but two people with knowledge of the layoffs tell The Verge that an overwhelming majority of Boosted’s employees were let go with one week of severance A few customer service and operations team members are being kept on to help wind down the business “We understand this news will come as a surprise to many of you and maintaining electric vehicles is highly capital-intensive and over the last year-and-a-half our business has faced an additional unplanned challenge with the high expense of the US-China tariff war,” Russakow and Ulmen wrote but was left searching for more funding one year later Boosted has struggled financially since attempting to add a rugged electric scooter called the Rev to its lineup last year, as The Verge first reported in February Russakow said at the time that Boosted was in the “fund-raising process” and was “far along in advanced talks with a new investor and current investors to finalize our next round,” and that the company “has not had any layoffs and no layoffs are planned or pending.” What happened to those talks are unclear What is clear is that complaints about the company’s customer service have been piling up in recent weeks, as people have been asking the company on places like Twitter and Reddit about delayed shipments, unanswered requests, and problems with skateboards (including problems with getting repaired skateboards returned) Boosted was founded in 2012 out of a Stanford startup incubator, and quickly launched a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign The company started shipping boards in 2014 and has released multiple new versions in the years since Boosted raised close to $80 million at the end of 2018 But the expense of developing and launching the Rev as well as the company’s growth into other countries apparently drained some of those financial resources but the company has not yet been reimbursed meaning the company is likely still out millions of dollars As the company sought new funding, it also lost a number of top employees, including three vice presidents and the company’s chief marketing officer within the span of two months The company was also falling behind on payments to suppliers and vendors A weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe. Europe with the prime mover and shaker Germany co-signed by a dying institution; Congress Reading Guy Debord(Society of the Spectacle),Lewis Mumford’s books as well as the book “Identity and Anxiety”(survival of the person in mass society)Ed.Maurice Stein etal,1960,Free Press of Glencoe will put us back on track This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens TDS Telecommunications continues expanding its high-speed all-fiber internet network into more Spokane-area neighborhoods © Copyright 2025, The Spokesman-Review | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy the daughter of the late Carl and Mary (Young) Ulmen Herbert “Red” Smith in 1947 and celebrated 48 years of devotion to each other She retired from Tuttle Press/Art Fair after 44 years of employment Alice ran the mill picnics and Christmas parties where many will remember Red and her as Mr She was famous for the wonderful parties and family gatherings that she and Red had she was a wonderful aunt and mother figure to many Alice and Red spent many happy years at their cottage by Crooked Lake Alice is survived by her sister: Lucille Endter of Appleton; sister-in-law: Lois Hanagan of Kaukauna; twenty-eight nieces and nephews along with many great and great-great nieces and nephews Herbert Smith; sisters: Dorothy (Lawrence) Kugler and Evie Westgor; brothers: Carlton (Cora) Ulmen and Floyd Ulmen; brothers-in-law: Howard Endter Donald Smith and Sonny Smith and three nephews The funeral liturgy for Alice will be held at 11:30 am on Thursday A visitation will be held on Thursday at the church from 10:30 am until the time of mass Online condolences can be expressed at www.wichmannfargo.com and Vern and Fran Horn for your devoted time spent with Alice Minnesota for the weekly letters that always put a smile on Alice's face Thanks to all the staff at Rennes Health Care for your care of Allie over the years RUDYARD — When asked if he'd be a good Old Sore Head what did you expect me to say?" Christenson said Rudyard is known as a town with "596 nice people and one old sore head." The contest is open now for the title of official town sore head.  He'd won lifetime appointment to the position at the town's 2010 centennial Ulmen was a gregarious ambassador for his hometown. He and several others founded the Rudyard Depot Museum He also served as president of the Hi-Line Vintage Motor Museum Christenson managed the grain elevator and fertilizer plant before he retired I think I'm about run out," he said.  Christenson commended fellow candidate Lyle Petersen as a more suitable candidate for the position laughed — a lot — when he said that so he suggested she would be a better sore head There's never been a woman in the position and all Rudyard's ladies escaped the "honor" of the nomination again this time "It will be interesting to see who gets it," he said so we all felt we should step up if they wanted us to." "they told me there would be no pressure," Christenson said "I wouldn't have to lead the parade or nothin.'" Besides Christenson and Petersen Darby Ditmar, Lyle Harrison, Terrry Hybner, Todd Langel, Lyle Petersen Dan Redding, Leonard Wendland and Mike Wendland.  He's a grandson of the original Old Sore Head if that means anything," Dahlke said. "He was gruff Dahlke sees Christenson as the lead contender He hasn't polished his own pitch for his bid for the title "I'll just do whatever I have to if I get it burn that bridge when I come to it," he said. "It's nothing I really planned for Dahlke has lived in Rudyard for 18 years after moving from Inverness and has worked in the town Bobby Toner had the title thrust upon him in the mid-1990s No. 59 on the Tribune's Montana Bucket List is to shake the hand of the sore head in Rudyard (or at least have a cup of coffee at the cafe), and Toner shook hands with 10 or so who tracked him down on their quest to check all 100 items off the list. He gave them a bit of the razz, too, as one would hope for when meeting an official sore head. Toner wouldn't name his pick for the new title holder. "I'm related to five of them. I'd start a family feud," he said. "They're all good guys. It's just whoever gets the most money in their can. That's why we're saying, 'Vote early, vote often.'"  Votes are $1 each, and the contest is a fundraiser for the Rudyard Commercial Club and supports the senior center. Votes may be cast via PayPal at oneoldsorehead@outlook.com or by mail: P.O. Box 47, Rudyard, MT 59540. Or cash can be deposited in the can of the favored candidate, with the cans rotating through the community. The contest ends Sept. 18.   "They're all good candidates," Toner said. "They're all Rudyard born and raised type people. They all do different things for the community, serving on the fire department and helping with benefits." So they're good men. But would they be sore of head? "I think they would represent it just fine, any one of them," Toner said.  WINIFRED — Broadcasting legend Norma Ashby of Great Falls found the "best highway in Montana to have car trouble" on when nuts and bolts broke on a wheel and left her stranded between Winifred and Lewistown. A rancher stopped and offered to drive Ashby and Co. back to Great Falls, a crop insurance adjuster stopped and called a tow truck, a priest, a school superintendent, the sheriff, a BLM official, and several more ranchers and farmers stopped with offers to help, she wrote in an ode to the community in the Lewistown News-Argus. "Thank you, Winifred, for taking such good care of us. We will never forget you," she wrote. BIG SANDY —  Big Sandy Organics opened a new manufacturing facility, which will allow for more storage and five times the production capacity of Kracklin' Kamut, a wheat kernel snack. The company recently partnered with Food Services of America and Associated Food Stores, significantly expanding its reach. Farmer Bob Quinn dreamed up Kracklin' Kamut and brought kamut, an ancient grain, back into production, the River Press reported in a report on the Big Sandy Organics' manufacturing plant. FacebookThreadsReportHow Boosted went bustAn inside look at how the beloved electric skateboard startup fell apart FacebookThreadsKanye wanted a meeting That was basically all a small group of employees at Boosted knew in early 2019 after they heard the rapper-mogul had taken an interest in the company’s electric skateboards A partnership, an investment, an endorsement — whatever he was considering, a meeting with Kanye West seemed absurd. But then again, Boosted was also working on a secret project with skateboard legend Tony Hawk at the time Was it really a stretch to think the startup could work with Yeezy Apparently. Kanye spent the meeting — two, in fact, over the course of 2019 — focused more on his ultimately doomed vision for sustainable cities than he did discussing a tangible deal with Boosted Boosted’s carcass is still drawing buzzards (Khosla Ventures is also an investor in Vox Media Khosla Ventures’ lawyers say Lime sabotaged a potential bailout of Boosted from Yamaha in late 2019 and conspired with Boosted’s biggest debt lender to rig the sale of the startup’s remains a few months later Lime’s team has argued the powerhouse firm is simply raw about a “failed business negotiation” that ultimately couldn’t save a “dying business.” The fight likely won’t end for months (A trial is tentatively scheduled for May 2022.) But interviews with six former Boosted employees help reveal in the greatest detail yet just how the category-defining electric skateboard startup fell apart and why seemingly nothing — not a partnership with Tony Hawk the constant support of one of YouTube’s biggest stars Things weren’t always so dire at Boosted. The startup was one of Kickstarter’s earliest success stories after it transitioned out of a Stanford incubator in 2012 Boosted’s electric longboard became the go-to vehicle for YouTube star Casey Neistat there was Boosted’s board: hanging behind him on the wall of his studio or under his feet as he carved through Manhattan traffic Neistat made Boosted so popular that it was hard for the startup to keep up with the orders that were pouring in. And co-founder Sanjay Dastoor attained cult status among the startup’s customers — not just because of the quality and popularity of the product, but because he was so hands-on that in 2016 he flew across the country to a board owner’s house to diagnose a battery failure But Dastoor handed over the company to Jeff Russakow in 2017, a fellow Stanford grad. With that changing of the guard came new, much bigger goals. “The company is just doing splendiferously well, and we’re looking forward to an exciting roadmap of many new form factors of light vehicles and other cool stuff,” he said at the time Russakow told The Verge he wanted to “be able to move faster on innovation,” and do “two major product releases of some cool exciting announcement” per year — “an Apple-like cadence,” he said expanding the brand into more than 30 countries Boosted even started working with Birdhouse, the company run by perhaps the most famous skateboarder on the planet, Tony Hawk. The startup also discussed making a board for kids and tapped another pro skater, Andy Macdonald, to work on the project Boosted’s electric longboards had never really been a natural fit with skateboard culture so validation from two of the sport’s icons felt like recognition of what they (and customers) already knew: that Boosted’s boards kicked ass New CEO Jeff Russakow took Boosted global — but that required more money Russakow’s efforts to grow the company appeared to be working It even drew interest from premium bike company Specialized two of the former employees tell The Verge it turns out that was easier said than done but refunds for them were still outstanding when the startup went under.) The pressure of maintaining this pace of growth — which was coming from Russakow but also from Khosla Ventures, the former employees say — had Boosted running ragged. What especially tripped things up, though, was the Boosted Rev: the startup’s super-rugged $1,600 electric scooter that debuted in early 2019 Boosted announced the scooter just as its bank accounts started suffering, and almost immediately had to delay the rollout (in part because of an issue with the latch meant to keep it folded but also because scaling up production was tricky) Khosla Ventures and Boosted’s other backers had just put money into the company — they didn’t want to add even more Boosted quietly turned to a “venture debt” firm called Structural Capital for what it hoped would be short-term help The deal’s terms weren’t exactly favorable to Boosted: it had to use all its assets as collateral for an $18.5 million loan Structural Capital could take control of parts of the business Boosted spent most of that loan in just a few months So Boosted’s executives found themselves once again looking for money Boosted started to delay payments to some vendors and began considering layoffs as early as September A desperate deal with a “venture debt” firm in 2019 proved poisonous made a small loan in October to help keep the lights on while Boosted looked for a way out But it wasn’t enough to stop Structural Capital from taking control of the company’s purse strings Now every expense had to be run by the venture debt firm Employees quickly started to wonder how much longer Boosted had The company no longer had access to its inventory and it certainly had no money to make any new products Two former employees said they went on Thanksgiving break not knowing if there would be a company to go back to That feeling of dread didn’t lift when they returned “We got stuck in this weird limbo land,” one former employee says Some employees banded together to figure out what other sacrifices could be made to save money like getting rid of free snacks and lunches (which Boosted eventually did) or giving up their company-subsidized Caltrain passes “The people at Boosted were great,” this person says “Everyone felt very loyal to John [Ulmen who remained with Boosted until the end] and wanted to stick it out There was a lot of untapped potential with the brand Everyone hung on longer than you’d expect because of that.” one team inside Boosted was incorrectly told by their manager that everyone would be laid off the following morning People are making sure they have their stuff backed up,” says the former employee But when Russakow called the company together that following day word had gotten around that something was going on with Lime The confusion ramped up when employees started taking jobs at Lime “We would expect to get let go every Friday,” the former employee said “Then paychecks would come through and people would be surprised.” Boosted’s executives hunkered at their office trying to engineer a way out of a small mountain of debt — who to fire and what to salvage to keep the company alive Russakow and his team received news that seemed like a Christmas miracle: Japanese giant Yamaha was interested in buying them Those executives had already spent most of December hammering out a deal with Lime that would allow the scooter-sharing giant to hire away a small group of core Boosted employees and license some of the intellectual property around their new scooter in exchange for $30 million worth of stock A Yamaha acquisition would have been transformational That deal wouldn’t save the entire company It could have buttressed Russakow’s efforts to grow the startup and expand into new markets — moves supported by Khosla Ventures which was looking for big returns on its investment A Yamaha deal could have helped Boosted diversify into new categories while shipping products it had waiting in the wings like an electric bike and new versions of its electric skateboards The failed Yamaha deal is at the center of Khosla Ventures’ lawsuits, one of which was previously reported by The Information (The Japanese conglomerate is never named in the lawsuits instead referred to as the “Manufacturer.”) Khosla Ventures unequivocally blames Lime for Yamaha backing out in the lawsuits which were recently consolidated into one case in San Francisco Superior Court Lawyers for the venture firm have argued that Lime poached Boosted employees while negotiations with Yamaha were ongoing — including the Boosted VP who was coordinating interviews with the people Lime might hire as part of that deal Khosla’s lawyers also claim Lime coordinated with Structural Capital to freeze the startup’s bank accounts and force it into dissolution — effectively preventing the Yamaha deal Lime “acted with malice by intending to cause injury to Boosted’s economic relationship with [Yamaha],” lawyers for Khosla Ventures argued at one point intentional acts designed to disrupt [Khosla Ventures] and Boosted from consummating an alternative transaction.” Khosla Ventures accused Lime of sabotaging the Yamaha deal This all amounted to “sabotage,” Khosla Ventures claimed in court Boosted was losing crucial team members and access to cash Khosla Ventures claims there was another twist of the knife Just before this all allegedly played out in January 2020 Lime had come back to Boosted with a revised offer: $15 million in company stock and more Boosted employees in exchange for the scooter IP Khosla’s team said in court that this was more evidence Lime was up to no good: it struck up negotiations with Boosted under false pretenses in order to steal employees and other nonpublic information from a startup on the rocks Khosla Ventures and Structural Capital did not respond to requests for comment Khosla Ventures kept Boosted afloat through February with $2.4 million in bridge loans, but ultimately “decided not to fund Boosted any further” by the end of the month, according to one of the filings. The startup laid off most employees shortly after Structural Capital moved to foreclose on what was left of Boosted The venture debt firm wound up in control of all of Boosted’s assets since the startup had used them as collateral Structural also had the right to liquidate those assets if Boosted violated any terms of the loan — something Khosla Ventures agreed to when that deal happened Structural set up an auction for March 17th the San Francisco area received a shelter-in-place order as an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19 Khosla says it didn’t attend the sale in order to comply with the public health order Lime says there are “zero factual allegations” in Khosla Ventures’ lawsuit Structural bought the rights to the tariff refund Boosted was waiting on from the government — a value in excess of $5 million — for just $400,000 Lime walked away with all of Boosted’s IP and remaining assets in exchange for 62 million shares of its stock and Lime were supposed to split the proceeds of any sale But Khosla Ventures says Structural set up a new LLC that bought some of the assets — a move designed to dodge this contractually obligated proceed split Lime fought back hard against most of Khosla’s claims During a hearing in the San Francisco lawsuit one of Lime’s lawyers argued there was no agreement that Lime wouldn’t solicit or hire employees He also said there were “zero factual allegations” in Khosla’s complaint to support the claim that Yamaha backed out because of Lime’s actions Khosla was trying to claim these employees were still valuable and that it held the right to take legal action against Lime for hiring them away “It just simply doesn’t make any sense,” he said I’ll give you that,” judge Ethan P “odd things happen in the world and give rise to lawsuit[s].” the other shoe had finally dropped for employees in early March when the building manager at Boosted’s San Francisco office was served an eviction notice The company’s leadership told everyone to work from home “We understand this news will come as a surprise to many of you, but unfortunately, developing, manufacturing, and maintaining electric vehicles is highly capital-intensive, and over the last year-and-a-half our business has faced an additional unplanned challenge with the high expense of the US-China tariff war,” Russakow and Ulmen wrote on the company’s blog (Russakow and Ulmen did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story.) Instead, many of them simply blame Khosla Ventures and acknowledge that Russakow’s aggressive product goals were a reflection of the returns the big firm wanted on its investment. It was in pursuit of those goals that Boosted overextended itself. In the days and weeks after Boosted’s downfall, some of the startup’s most loyal fans still held out hope that it could be resurrected. Every few days they would tweet at Casey Neistat, or Elon Musk, and beg for some sort of intervention — as if the right face with the right money would be able to untangle the legal knot tied around the remains of Boosted. It’s hard to blame them; after all, throughout its early years, Boosted defied expectations. It was a successful Kickstarter project that turned into a bona fide company, and basically helped create an entirely new category of vehicle along the way. But at its end, Boosted had evolved into something far more common: yet another Silicon Valley startup that struggled to meet ambitious goals set by the people who wound up running the show. Update: Added disclosure of Khosla Ventures’ investment in Vox Media. The shape of a life is never clear until that life is over Summer is nearly upon us again in Rhineland-Palatinate and the gardens paths and forests are slowly coming to life again as the mercury rises Children’s laughter can be heard in many places into the evening as the little ones use their lively imaginations to join in the adventure and attempt to be like the grown-ups now is the best time to make wonderful memories stories you will still be telling in 20 years’ time There will be fascinating excursions into unspoilt countryside the feeling of living close to the beating heart of the earth or even that special feeling of exclusiveness against a historic setting In order to make it easier for you to find these memorable experiences and sweeten the anticipation of Rhineland-Palatinate for your nearest and dearest we have put together six extraordinary accommodation options for families in our unique state Our first tip takes you to the ancient volcanic Eifel: With traditional camping, you often have to pitch your tent on a small parcel of land, while the Naturerlebnishof Vulkaneifel in Ulmen offers a whole 10,000 square metres of adventure playground for all the family you can spend the night in a luxurious glamping tent with its own terrace or even brave one of the suspended tree tents with wonderful views of the wide-open starlit sky watch the geese on the pond or interact with pigs you can tell stories about your daytime adventures over the crackling flames from the ancient fire pit before laying your heads down on the straw to rest Accommodation offers and experiences for families: Animals at Naturerlebnishof Vulkaneifel Outdoor Centre Lahntal in Greifenstein-Allendorf The magical forests above the Lahn are even closer to nature and also a little bit more mysterious for you and your loved ones. Among the trees to the south of the village of Allendorf, you will find the amazing wooden structures of the Outdoor-Zentrum-Lahntal to transport your family away to a different world you could believe you have been transported to the Mongolian steppes and the ground-level Hobbit house will have you dreaming of adventures in Middle Earth For big families or excursions with friends one of the real treats takes you back to the days of bison The huge tents in the tepee village promise the feeling of being at one with nature in the middle of the forest You sleep on wooden beds and grill your own food over the open fire pit in the tent before enjoying it together on the large group tables in front of the tepees Tipi as overnight accommodation at the Outdoor Centre Lahntal in Greifenstein-Allendorf Ehrenburg Hotel in Brodenbach on the Moselle You can either head for one of the stylish chambers inside the castle walls and feel like nobles from the Middle Ages or sleep in the shadows of the powerful defensive complex in one of the carriages or knights’ tents as if you were going to take part in a tournament the next day What with the range of medieval events around the Ehrenburg and the wonderful contemporary foods served up by the court kitchen any stay becomes an exciting adventure blurring fantasy and reality Castle room in the Ehrenburg Hotel in Brodenbach While the Ehrenburg is hidden in a side valley of the Moselle, the magnificent Diez Castle towers above the village of the same name on the Lahn The building originally dates back to an 11th-century castle but is now home to a modern youth hostel with stylish eating The complex is even certified based on the ‘Reisen für Alle’ (travel for all) accessibility scheme so you can genuinely bring the whole family with its historic half-timbered buildings and winding streets The castle’s location at the intersection of the Westerwald the Taunus and the Lahn valley makes it the perfect starting point for your adventures There are countless hiking trails criss-crossing the Geopark or you can simply glide down the cool waters of the river in a canoe Ferienbahnhof Reichenbach in Dahn in the Palatinate The Ferienbahnhof Reichenbach near Pirmasens in the Dahner Felsenland offers a similar level of variety in one of two original carriages from the Swiss national railway or a former sleeper and workshop carriage from the German state railway The trains originally date back to the 50s and 60s but have been converted into stylish apartments with real flair and great attention to detail You can also stay in the former engine shed while the old station building has been converted into a restaurant one of the loveliest regions of the Palatinate is on your doorstep with impressive natural scenery featuring bizarre red sandstone formations for you and your loved ones to explore Walking along the railway wagons of the Ferienbahnhof Reichenbach in Dahn You also get a real old-fashioned railway vibe in the sleeping carriages at the Campingplatz Nahemühle near Monzingen The combination of the blue circus carriage and the former construction trailer next door is perfect for you and your family Everyone can have their own space but be just a few steps away Although its location right next to the Nahe with its own sandy beach and all sorts of things to do for all ages the sweeping view over the vineyards all around is a clue that the Nahe holiday region still has much more to offer Perhaps you could also head towards EdelSteinLand in Idar-Oberstein and explore all the caves and gemstone mines it has to offer Our summer holiday tip: The campsite itself is the starting point for the ‘Zwergen- und Abenteuercamp’ programme of exciting excursions for children an action-packed way to get to know the region a little better Cosy sleeping cars for hire at Camping Nahemühle Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler A modern and fascinating youth hostel like from a picture book. All rooms in the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler youth hostel will be equipped with new Source link