Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It’s Wednesday October 14th, and we’re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every week day we’re sharing a closer look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of other important things happening in our state. Today our focus is on the pending sale of Denver company Boa Technology, which will mark one of the largest deals in the history of Colorado’s outdoor industry.

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

Today, we’re going back to October 14th, 1992 when Governor Roy Romer cut a ribbon inside the Hidden Lake Tunnel in Garfield County, marking the completion of Interstate 70 in Colorado. Federal officials declared it “the most difficult project in the interstate system”, and a “capstone achievement for the United States”.

Now, our feature story. 

Gary Hammerslag remembers more than 20 years ago watching snowboarders and hockey players struggling with shoelaces. He was new to Colorado and snowboarding back then, a recent transplant from Southern California, where he had created and sold a company that made the hairlike wires doctors threaded through clogged veins during angioplasty procedures.

As the athletes yanked on century-old technology, Hammerslag thought he could do better. And after a few years of tinkering in a small office in Steamboat Springs, he built Boa Technology, an innovative lacing system that uses wires to cinch shoes to feet.

Now the company has its revolutionary dial-it-tight fit system laced through more than 400 brands of shoes, boots and even medical braces. The company has offices in Europe and Asia and more than 230 employees, including about 150 at its Denver headquarters. And earlier this month, a publicly traded investment company announced it was paying $454 million for Boa Technology, marking one of the largest ever deals for a Colorado outdoors brand. 

Colorado Sun reporter Jason Blevins joins us today to tell us more about Boa and the sale.

Compass Diversified Holdings wants to make Boa Technology the 10th company in a stable of middle-market consumer and industrial brands, including Aurora circuit-board maker Advanced Circuits. The 15-year-old company purchased 19 businesses and sold 10 of those between 2006 and 2019. 

In a presentation to investors late last month, Compass executives pointed out Boa’s almost 160 patents and another 85 pending. They also said Boa Technology posts $30 million in annual earnings from more than $100 million in revenue.

Thanks for listening. Before we go here are a few stories you should know about today:

Denver television station 9News says its employees were unaware that Matthew Dolloff, a private security guard hired to protect them, was armed before Saturday’s fatal shooting.   

A Weld County grand jury indicted an Idaho man, Steven Pankey, for the death of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, who disappeared from her Greeley home nearly 36 years ago.

Colorado’s coronavirus test positivity rate rises above 5%, and on Saturday, Colorado had its first day with more than 1,000 new cases.

Colorado’s Proposition 113 is a linchpin in the national popular vote campaign but major hurdles remain. The political landscape suggests the national popular vote compact is unlikely to come to fruition and legal challenges loom large.

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. 

Today at noon we're hosting a virtual forum on voting and election security, featuring Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and a panel of experts including former Secretary of State - Wayne Williams, the CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute - Amber McReynolds, and also the state’s office cyber security manager - Nathan Blumenthal. They'll be speaking with our senior political reporter, John Frank.

The event is called "Voting and Election Security Discussion with Jena Griswold and More" and it's a part of our public service mission to get voters engaged and informed ahead of the election. For more information you can visit us at coloradosun.com or search for us on Eventbrite.And remember, right now you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member. Starting at $5 per month for a basic membership and if you bump it up to $20 per month, you’ll get access to our exclusive politics and outdoors newsletters. Thanks for starting your morning with us and don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It&rsquo;s Wednesday October 14th, and we&rsquo;re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Every week day we&rsquo;re sharing a closer look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of other important things happening in our state. Today our focus is on the pending sale of Denver company Boa Technology, which will mark one of the largest deals in the history of Colorado&rsquo;s outdoor industry.
But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;:
Today, we&rsquo;re going back to October 14th, 1992 when Governor Roy Romer cut a ribbon inside the Hidden Lake Tunnel in Garfield County, marking the completion of Interstate 70 in Colorado. Federal officials declared it &ldquo;the most difficult project in the interstate system&rdquo;, and a &ldquo;capstone achievement for the United States&rdquo;.
Now, our feature story.&nbsp;
Gary Hammerslag remembers more than 20 years ago watching snowboarders and hockey players struggling with shoelaces. He was new to Colorado and snowboarding back then, a recent transplant from Southern California, where he had created and sold a company that made the hairlike wires doctors threaded through clogged veins during angioplasty procedures.
As the athletes yanked on century-old technology, Hammerslag thought he could do better. And after a few years of tinkering in a small office in Steamboat Springs, he built Boa Technology, an innovative lacing system that uses wires to cinch shoes to feet.
Now the company has its revolutionary dial-it-tight fit system laced through more than 400 brands of shoes, boots and even medical braces. The company has offices in Europe and Asia and more than 230 employees, including about 150 at its Denver headquarters. And earlier this month, a publicly traded investment company announced it was paying $454 million for Boa Technology, marking one of the largest ever deals for a Colorado outdoors brand.&nbsp;
Colorado Sun reporter Jason Blevins joins us today to tell us more about Boa and the sale.
Compass Diversified Holdings wants to make Boa Technology the 10th company in a stable of middle-market consumer and industrial brands, including Aurora circuit-board maker Advanced Circuits. The 15-year-old company<a href="https://s23.q4cdn.com/733782328/files/doc_financials/annual/CODI_AR2019r.pdf"> purchased 19 businesses and sold 10 of those between 2006 and 2019</a>.&nbsp;
In<a href="https://s23.q4cdn.com/733782328/files/doc_presentations/2020/22/CODI%E2%80%94BOA-Deck-For-Website-v2.pdf"> a presentation to investors late last month</a>, Compass executives pointed out Boa&rsquo;s almost 160 patents and another 85 pending. They also said Boa Technology posts $30 million in annual earnings from more than $100 million in revenue.
Thanks for listening. Before we go here are a few stories you should know about today:
Denver television station 9News says its employees were unaware that Matthew Dolloff, a private security guard hired to protect them, was armed before <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/10/11/matthew-dolloff-arrested-denver-shooting/">Saturday&rsquo;s fatal shooting</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
A Weld County grand jury indicted an Idaho man, Steven Pankey, for the death of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, who disappeared from her Greeley home nearly 36 years ago.
Colorado&rsquo;s coronavirus test positivity rate rises above 5%, and on Saturday, Colorado had its first day with more than 1,000 new cases.
Colorado&rsquo;s Proposition 113 is a linchpin in the national popular vote campaign but major hurdles remain. The political landscape suggests the national popular vote compact is unlikely to come to fruition and legal challenges loom large.
For more information on all of these stories, visit our website,<a href="http://www.coloradosun.com/"> www.coloradosun.com</a>.&nbsp;
Today at noon we're hosting a virtual forum on voting and election security, featuring Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and a panel of experts including former Secretary of State - Wayne Williams, the CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute - Amber McReynolds, and also the state&rsquo;s office cyber security manager - Nathan Blumenthal. They'll be speaking with our senior political reporter, John Frank.
The event is called "Voting and Election Security Discussion with Jena Griswold and More" and it's a part of our public service mission to get voters engaged and informed ahead of the election. For more information you can visit us at <a href="http://coloradosun.com/">coloradosun.com</a> or search for us on Eventbrite.And remember, right now you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member. Starting at $5 per month for a basic membership and if you bump it up to $20 per month, you&rsquo;ll get access to our exclusive politics and outdoors newsletters. Thanks for starting your morning with us and don&rsquo;t forget to tune in again tomorrow.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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