An overlap in leadership boosts synergistic progress in aquatic weed control initiatives

WESTMINSTER, Colo., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) commends the Aquatic Plant Management Society (APMS) for its recent and ongoing initiatives to research and manage aquatic plants, and for its successful collaboration with WSSA member scientists to manage and control aquatic weeds. The APMS is a WSSA affiliate society with many members that belong to both organizations.

This summer, the APMS convened its 66th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona (July 13-16). During the meeting, Ramon Leon, Ph.D., NC State University, was awarded the APMS T. Wayne Miller Distinguished Service Award for his efforts to convert the Journal of Aquatic Plant Management (JAPM) from print-only to open-access digital publication. Dr. Leon is the JAPM Editor, an APMS Board member and WSSA member scientist. Another WSSA member, Chris Mudge, Ph.D., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was also recognized at the APMS conference. Dr. Mudge earned the top research award for the society, the APMS Outstanding Research Contributor award, for his efforts to advance aquatic plant management initiatives to protect water resources in the U.S.

Four other WSSA member scientists now serve in top APMS leadership roles. Lyn Gettys, Ph.D., University of Florida, serves as Past President, and Gray Turnage, Ph.D., Mississippi State University was elected Vice President. WSSA member scientists now also serve as APMS Secretary -- Greg MacDonald, Ph.D., University of Florida – and APMS Board of Directors (BOD) – Mirella Ortiz, Ph.D., Utah State University. In addition, Benjamin Sperry, Ph.D., University of Florida is now on the APMS BOD, having had notable involvement as a WSSA member scientist in previous years.

The APMS annual meeting theme this summer was "Water in the Arid Southwest - Policies, Allocation & Ecosystem Challenges." The event attracted 113 individuals who were able to view 41 research presentations and 15 research posters on diverse aquatic management topics, including weed management.

At the meeting, 17 graduate students from eight universities had a unique opportunity to experience some water scarcity and aquatic weed management issues in the Southwest during a visit to the Tres Rios Wetlands. This recently constructed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wetland system serves as an important environmental restoration project that includes rehabilitation of nearly 700 acres in and around the Salt River, creating a vital wetland and riparian habitat for flora and fauna, especially migratory birds. As part of the excursion, students were divided into groups to mark and map the presence of invasive saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) to geolocate weed populations designated for later removal as part of a bird nesting habitat improvement project.

The annual meeting also featured an expert panel discussion entitled: "20 Years of Aquatic Plant Management: What's Changed?" Part of those discussions included the volatility in federal funding for aquatic plant management in recent years, the importance of new technology and research needs, and a general movement towards non-chemical aquatic weed control options in some regions.

Earlier this year, both WSSA and APMS sent leadership to meet with key U.S. agriculture and environmental representatives and legislators in Washington, D.C., to help further the mission for each society. Whether legislative, scientific, or educational, these collaborations will continue this fall and into next year.

"Working with APMS gives us a stronger voice in communicating the funding needs of aquatic weed research and management," says Ian Burke, Ph.D., WSSA President. "Together, we can help decision-makers understand how sustained investment supports the science, tools and next generation of scientists needed to protect our water resources."

For more information about APMS, visit https://apms.org/. For more information about WSSA and its weed and invasive plant management resources, visit: www.wssa.net.

About the Weed Science Society of America 

The Weed Science Society of America is a nonprofit scientific society, founded in 1956 to encourage and facilitate the development of knowledge concerning weeds and their impact on the environment. The Society promotes research, education and extension outreach activities related to weeds, provides science-based information to the public and policy makers, fosters awareness of weeds and their impact on managed and natural ecosystems, and strengthens cooperation among weed science organizations across the nation and around the world. For more information, visit www.wssa.net.

SOURCE Weed Science Society of America

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Digital platform brings transparency, market intelligence, and confidence to farmland leasing

OMAHA, Neb., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In an agricultural economy defined by fluctuating commodity prices, changing interest rates, rising input costs, and increasing competition for farmland, one question has become more important than ever: What should farmland rent for in today's market?

For many landowners, including institutional ownership groups, determining the current value of their farmland assets and understanding leasing opportunities can be challenging. At the same time, farmers looking to grow their operations often struggle to identify available land and connect with landowners beyond their local network. CommonGround was created to solve both challenges.

As a modern digital farmland marketplace, CommonGround helps landowners better understand the value of their land assets while creating new opportunities for farmers seeking to expand their operations. Through valuation tools, digital listings, leasing workflows, and marketplace connections, the platform brings greater transparency, accessibility, and confidence to farmland transactions for owners, operators, and investors.

By bringing both sides of the leasing transaction into one digital marketplace, CommonGround helps landowners reach a broader pool of qualified farmers while giving operators a more efficient way to discover and pursue available farmland. The platform simplifies what has traditionally been a relationship-driven, fragmented process by combining market intelligence, digital listings, and connection tools in one place. As landowners seek better insight into asset performance and farmers compete for growth opportunities, this type of transparent, technology-enabled marketplace represents the future of farmland leasing.

Farmers National Company acquired CommonGround in early 2026 as part of a broader strategy to bring cutting-edge farmland technology to landowners while pairing that digital experience with trusted land professionals who have boots on the ground across the nation, in over 30 states.

"Farmland is one of the most valued assets many families, ownership groups, and investors hold, yet understanding what it's worth and the market opportunities around it has never been more complex," said Grant Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President of Farm Management at Farmers National Company. "Whether you're a landowner evaluating leasing options or a farmer looking for additional acres, better information leads to better decisions."

The acquisition reflects Farmers National Company's commitment to investing in tools and partnerships that support long-term land stewardship, improve landowner profitability, and help farmers compete in a more data-driven agricultural economy.

About CommonGround

CommonGround is the only digital farmland marketplace designed to bring transparency, efficiency, and data‑driven decision support to farmland leasing. The platform provides landowners with tools to evaluate lease value, market land for lease, and connect with vetted farmers, and land professionals. Backed by America's largest land management company, Farmers National Company, CommonGround offers a modern experience with the backing of a nearly 100-year agricultural company. Learn more at CommonGround.com

SOURCE Farmers National Company

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ReEmerge, Inc. Exits Stealth with Oversubscribed $37M Series A to Challenge the Limitations of Chronic Cognitive Impairment Caused by Brain Injuries

- Company's Cognitive Network Restoration Therapy (CNRT) technology aims to make meaningful cognitive recovery possible years after initial injury

- Targeting a brain hub involved in executive function, CNRT activates underperforming networks to reverse deficits and restore independence

- Groundbreaking therapeutic approach has the potential to transform chronic cognitive impairment care from rehabilitation to restoration

EDINA, Minn., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ReEmerge, Inc. (ReEmerge), a private MedTech company innovating a new way to address cognitive impairment, launched from stealth today following the close of an oversubscribed $37M Series A financing. The proceeds will support an upcoming clinical study that will evaluate ReEmerge's proprietary Cognitive Network Restoration Therapy (CNRT) in its first clinical indication, traumatic brain injury (TBI), while advancing technology development, expanding clinical and regulatory operations, and preparing the platform for future indications. U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and Santé co-led the round, with significant participation from Oxford Science Enterprises, 415 Capital, IAG Capital Partners, The Vertical Group, and Dendrion Ventures.

"ReEmerge's technology represents a fundamentally different approach to cognitive recovery with the potential to transform the recovery pathway," commented Jonathan Root, MD, General Partner at USVP. "The size of the opportunity and the profound unmet need make this an especially compelling market for innovation. We are excited about this technology and the new hope it aims to offer patients and their families."

"TBI does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone at any age, and its consequences can fundamentally alter a person's ability to live, work, and engage with the world around them," said Auriel August, MD, Principal at Santé. "CNRT could offer people living with TBI something they have too often been told not to expect, namely the possibility of meaningful cognitive recovery."

CNRT is a proprietary, first-of-its-kind approach that precisely targets neural networks in the central thalamus, a brain hub involved in attention, arousal, and executive function. Rather than bypassing damaged pathways or asking patients to compensate for lost function, CNRT aims to augment the recovery journey by driving underactive but viable neural circuits. By restoring function across existing but underperforming networks, CNRT aims to reverse cognitive deficits and allow recovery to extend further.

This technology grew out of decades of research by Nicholas Schiff, M.D. Professor of Neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues at Stanford University and the University of Utah, which explored the possible restorative effect of brain electrical stimulation after TBI. A pilot study showed promising results, with patients regaining cognitive function. The Center for Technology Licensing at Weill Cornell worked closely with Dr. Schiff's team to protect the intellectual property, provide internal translational gap funding, and license the foundational intellectual property to ReEmerge to advance clinical and commercial development of CNRT.

Building upon this groundbreaking clinical research, including a publication in Nature Medicine, ReEmerge will conduct a prospective, single-arm, multicenter study (NCT07730099) to evaluate this treatment, enrolling up to 40 patients with chronic moderate-to-severe TBI. Additionally, the study will explore potential effects on cognitive and functional outcomes.

"As a physician-scientist and co-founder, it has been very rewarding to see the arc of benchtop science moving forward and being translated into a meaningful clinical development pathway," stated Dr. Schiff. "I am excited for us to advance the testing of treatment for many patients, who have historically had limited therapeutic options, as we look to shift cognitive care from rehabilitation to restoration and ultimately, to redefine recovery."

Each year, an estimated 27 million people worldwide experience a traumatic brain injury, and many are left with persistent cognitive impairment.1 Current recovery pathways focus on rehabilitation, helping patients compensate for cognitive deficits through structured routines, adaptive strategies, and supportive therapies. While these interventions can improve function, the journey can be long, and recovery will often plateau, frequently leaving patients with lasting impairments that limit independence, quality of life, and personhood.

"The strong support of our stellar investor syndicate validates our mission to evolve the recovery trajectory for patients living with impaired cognitive function," said Todd Langevin, Chief Executive Officer of ReEmerge. "We look forward to initiating our clinical study in TBI and building a robust body of evidence to support our differentiated approach to treating cognitive impairment."

About ReEmerge, Inc.

ReEmerge is innovating a new way to approach chronic cognitive impairment. Developed under an exclusive licensing agreement with Cornell University, the company's novel Cognitive Network Restoration Therapy (CNRT) precisely targets neural networks disrupted by brain injury that drive underactive but viable neural circuits. By restoring function across these existing but underperforming networks, CNRT aims to reverse cognitive deficits and restore agency and personhood. To learn more about how the company is developing therapeutic innovations that evolve cognitive care from rehabilitation to restoration, please visit ReEmergeInc.com.

Media Contact

Charlene Herndon

SPRIG Consulting

[email protected]

1Guan B, Anderson DB, Chen L, et al. Global, regional and national burden of traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BMJ Open 2023;13:e075049. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075049

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New Holiday Feast recipe lets the dog-obsessed celebrate the family member they're most thankful for: their dog

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This holiday season, Ollie, the human-grade, fresh dog food brand and leader in the dog wellbeing revolution, is giving dog parents another way to Feed the ObsessionTM - a holiday feast for the family member they're most thankful for: their dog. Because if there's ever a moment dog parents' obsession comes out in full force, it's the holidays.

Introducing Holiday Feast, a seasonal, fresh recipe that turns a "gobble gobble" into gratitude with savory turkey, fresh green beans, nutrient-dense sweet potatoes, juicy cranberries, and rich butternut squash. Because for the dog-obsessed, holiday gratitude isn't just about gathering around the table with family. It's also about celebrating the four-legged family member who makes every day better. In fact1, 96% of American dog parents say they give their dog something special to eat for the holidays that they wouldn't get on a normal day, with 95% of American dog parents proudly confirming they buy their dog a holiday gift.

Holiday Feast is crafted by the brand's team of veterinarians, chefs, and food scientists to help fuel those dog parents' obsession and say "thank you" to the best friends who are always there. Whether they're the first to greet you after a long day, the buddy you cancel other plans for, the only one you'd give 80% of your bed to, or simply the one you can't imagine the holidays without, dogs give their people plenty to be thankful for. Now, pup parents can pass on passing along the table scraps and return the favor with a meal made especially for dogs.

"At Ollie, we believe being obsessed with your dog is something worth celebrating, and there's no better time to lean into that than the holidays," said Bryan Angolia, Dog Chef & Senior Manager of R&D at Ollie. "Holiday Feast takes the obsession to the bowl, giving dog parents a fresh, thoughtfully crafted meal that feels as special as the dog it's made for. We combined seasonal ingredients like turkey, sweet potato, cranberries, and butternut squash into a one-of-a-kind, special meal that lets dog parents celebrate their pups without simply handing over the leftovers."

A Feast to Fuel Your Dog & Your Obsession

Holiday Feast brings the flavors of the season to your dog's bowl with a carefully crafted blend of veterinarian-recommended, human-grade ingredients, gently cooked for maximum nutrition, perfect for dogs of all ages. Many popular seasonal staples like turkey skin, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie can be harmful for pups, so stop debating if holiday leftovers are dog-friendly and start rewarding man's best friend with the best:

- Gobble up the goodness: Lean and clean turkey is the first ingredient, complemented by rich turkey liver.

- Sweet eats: Sweet potatoes provide an excellent slow-burning carbohydrate and dietary fiber source, packed with antioxidants and vitamins A and C.

- Tart and tasty: Cranberries add a great source of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins C and K.

- All the fixings: Rich butternut squash is high in dietary fiber to aid digestion and a source of powerful antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

- Pass the greens: Green beans and spinach are rich in vitamins A, B, C, and K, and an excellent source of iron, antioxidants, and beta-carotene to round out the recipe.

'Tis the Season to Obsess

For America's dog parents, the holidays aren't just about decking the halls. They're decking the dog bowl - and happily bending over backwards to make sure their pups have a special holiday season.

- 90% say their dog deserves a special holiday meal.

- Almost three-quarters (73%) say their dog is just as much a part of the holiday celebration as any other member of their family.

- More than half (52%) have driven instead of flown for their holiday travels to make it possible or easier for their pup to join them, with 20% having driven 8 hours or more.

- 23% have spent $100 or more on their dog's holiday gifts in a single year, with almost half (47%) admitting they've wrapped presents for their dog.

Feed the Obsession This Holiday Season

Holiday Feast will be available throughout the holiday season, while supplies last, beginning Tuesday, October 6 for existing Ollie Pack members and dog parents nationwide beginning Thursday, October 8 on Ollie.com. Prefer to shop retail? Ollie's Holiday Feast will be available in Petco locations nationally starting Friday, October 9.

The Holiday Feast recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages, including growth of large size Dogs (>70 pounds or more as an adult).

For more information, visit Ollie.com.

Download hi-res images HERE.

1 Source: Ollie's 2026 Holiday Obsession survey of 1,000 American dog parents.

About Ollie

Founded in 2016, Ollie believes dogs deserve to live the best life possible. That's why we're on a mission to drive the dog wellbeing revolution through food, science, data and fresh thinking. Our recipes are developed by chefs, vets, and food scientists, and backed by vet nutritionists. We use data from hundreds of thousands of dogs to supercharge our innovation to deliver the best possible experience for you and your dog. Follow Ollie on Instagram @ollie or visit www.ollie.com to Feed the Obsession.

SOURCE Ollie

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Treon IQ: The New Industrial AI That Automates Operational Understanding and Recommends Actions

DALLAS, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Treon Inc. today announced Treon IQ, a next-generation industrial AI capability that brings situational understanding to the company's market-leading Treon Connect Prescriptive Maintenance cloud platform. Instead of spending valuable time investigating dashboards, correlating data, and determining next steps, maintenance organizations can rely on Treon IQ to continuously analyze operational conditions, diagnose issues, identify optimization opportunities, and recommend actions. By transforming asset intelligence into continuous operational understanding and guided execution, Treon IQ helps teams resolve issues faster, improve consistency, and operate with expert-level insight across sites, fleets, and facilities.

Bringing Industrial Understanding to the Next Level

Industrial maintenance workflows remain heavily dependent on human-led analysis and decision-making. While asset monitoring and fault detection have become largely automated, understanding what is happening and what should be done next still relies on human expertise. The result is often slow, costly, inconsistent, and difficult to scale.

Building AI systems capable of performing these tasks autonomously is equally challenging. Developing in-house diagnostic and recommendation models requires vast amounts of data, training, and computing resources. Horizontal AI layers depend on third-party sensor data, limiting their reasoning capabilities, while general-purpose large language models (LLMs) often lack the industrial context required for reliable operational decisions.

Introducing Treon IQ

Treon IQ extends the Treon Connect platform with an AI engine that automatically transforms asset data into continuous situational understanding.

The solution analyzes data from real-time and historical asset intelligence and other sources such as CMMS and ERP systems. It detects and diagnoses issues, uncovers optimization opportunities, explains root causes, and generates actionable recommendations for fast and consistent resolution.

Treon IQ combines the company's proprietary anomaly detection technology, next-generation deep-learning diagnostic models, and carefully selected LLMs into a unified framework. High-precision wireless sensors within the vertically integrated Treon Connect platform provide deep visibility into asset behavior, creating a stronger foundation for accurate diagnostics and recommendations than horizontal AI approaches that lack in-depth asset intelligence.

Instead of relying on alerts, vibration data, and condition-monitoring dashboards, Treon IQ introduces an AI-powered companion that provides maintenance managers with a continuously updated operational briefing summarizing site status, active issues, optimization opportunities, and prioritized actions, eliminating the need to spend valuable time investigating data and dashboards.

From Asset Intelligence to Operational Understanding

As a result, Treon IQ delivers accurate, reliable, and scalable operational understanding while maintaining optimized computing resources and predictable costs. By automating analysis, diagnosis, and recommendations, companies can improve consistency, accelerate resolution, and provide maintenance teams with expert-level guidance every day.

"Industrial AI should do more than detect anomalies. It should help maintenance teams understand what's happening and confidently decide what to do next," said Joni Korppi, CEO of Treon. "With Treon IQ, maintenance managers no longer need to start their day chasing alerts and investigating dashboards. Instead, they can begin each day with a complete understanding of their operational situation, key priorities, and the plan for the day, delivered automatically through an AI-powered companion in Treon Connect."

Availability of Treon IQ

An early-access version of Treon IQ is now available for Treon Make and Treon Flow customers, including tailored AI-powered companion functionalities for maintenance managers. Additional features will be introduced as new capabilities become available.

Treon IQ Demonstrated at IMTS 2026

Treon is introducing and demonstrating Treon IQ for the first time at IMTS 2026, taking place September 14-19, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago, showcasing how an AI-powered companion transforms a maintenance manager's work from investigating dashboards to understanding operational situations and confidently deciding what to do next.

About Treon

Treon is a global leader in AI-driven Smart Industry solutions, helping businesses improve productivity, operational visibility, and long-term sustainability. Its fully integrated predictive maintenance solutions combine advanced AI analytics, a mobile-first user experience, automated workflows, and wireless vibration monitoring delivered as a managed service with scalable subscription pricing. Treon operates in Finland, France, and United States, serving more than 200 customers worldwide across manufacturing, material handling, and logistics hubs. Learn more at Treon.

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Kibar Americas Celebrates Grand Opening of Fairmont Aluminum Manufacturing Facility

FAIRMONT, W.Va., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kibar Americas celebrated the grand opening of its aluminum production facility in Fairmont, West Virginia today, marking a significant milestone in the company's expansion into U.S. manufacturing. Headquartered in Chicago, Kibar Americas acquired the facility earlier this year.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony brought together government officials, customers, suppliers, industry representatives, city and community leaders, members of the media, and employees to celebrate the opening of the facility and the beginning of a new chapter for the company.

The event highlighted Kibar Americas' commitment to supporting American manufacturing, creating local jobs, and contributing to the economic vitality of Fairmont and the broader West Virginia economy.

"Today represents an important milestone for Kibar Americas," said Derek Keddy, President of the North America Rolling Business Unit at Kibar Americas. "We are proud to become part of the Fairmont community and establish a manufacturing presence that will allow us to serve our customers more effectively while creating long-term value for our employees, business partners, and the region."

"The Fairmont investment is a cornerstone of Kibar Americas' long-term growth strategy in North America," said Atilla Çetinel, COO of Kibar Americas. "With this facility, we are complementing our established commercial and distribution presence with local manufacturing capabilities, bringing us closer to our customers and strengthening our ability to respond to their needs. Our focus remains on delivering the quality, reliability, and service our customers expect while continuing to invest in our people and operations."

Kibar Americas has begun production at its Fairmont facility, which will manufacture aluminum products for the HVAC, packaging, automotive, and industrial sectors.

"The Fairmont investment is an important part of Assan Alüminyum Group's strategy to diversify its manufacturing footprint and build capabilities closer to customers in key markets," said Göksal Güngör, Managing Director of Assan Alüminyum Group. "By combining our strong production, R&D, and sustainability capabilities in Europe with Kibar Americas' manufacturing presence in North America, we are strengthening our global platform and creating a more balanced and resilient foundation for future growth."

Looking ahead, Kibar Americas plans to continue expanding its Fairmont operations, strengthening its position as a world-class aluminum foil producer, and pursuing future growth opportunities that create long-term value for the company and the communities in which it operates.

SOURCE Kibar Americas

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Membership gives more than 500 private equity firms and thousands of portfolio companies access to purpose-built, identity-verified money movement infrastructure

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 6lock, the Verified Money MovementTM platform purpose-built for private equity firms, today announced that it has joined BluWave's vetted provider network as the network's only Verified Money MovementTM platform. BluWave connects private equity firms and portfolio companies with third-party service providers selected for specific business needs. As a network provider, 6lock can now be considered by BluWave clients seeking to replace email-, spreadsheet- and callback-dependent money movement processes with an identity-verified transaction platform.

BluWave's invite-only network serves more than 500 private equity firm clients and thousands of portfolio companies. Providers undergo an evaluation covering direct private equity experience, client references, capability fit and project history, with continued review based on client feedback and performance. 6lock joins the network with a platform built specifically for capital calls, distributions and other high-value transactions in private markets.

"Private equity firms have accepted email, phone calls and spreadsheets as the last mile of moving money for too long," said Todd Sorrel, Co-founder and CEO of 6lock. "Joining BluWave as the network's only Verified Money MovementTM platform gives firms a direct path to replace those manual controls with infrastructure that verifies identities, banking instructions and approvals before money moves."

6lock provides a closed-loop transaction layer for capital calls, distributions, deals and vendor payments. Its platform guides users through four steps – invite, verify, fund and reconcile – while working with firms' existing bank relationships. The system keeps sensitive banking details out of email, provides real-time transaction visibility and maintains an auditable record from invitation through settlement.

Private equity firms, fund administrators and portfolio companies can learn more about 6lock or request a demonstration at 6lock.com.

About 6lock

6lock delivers Verified Money MovementTM (VMM) to lock fraud and human error out of fund flows for private markets. The platform enables identity-verified, secure, and real-time execution of capital calls, distributions, deals, and vendor payments. 6lock is SOC 2 Type II compliant and built to reduce fraud risk, operational burden, and friction across the PE ecosystem.

Press Contact

Rick Medeiros

(510) 556-8517

[email protected]

SOURCE 6lock

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New VIP, Clean Pup and Social Pup Plans Simplify the Choice for Pup Parents While Delivering More Value at Every Tier

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Skiptown, the modern, tech-enabled dog care franchise, has relaunched its membership program as "The Skiptown Club," replacing its previous three-tier structure with a simplified, benefit-led lineup: The VIP Plan, The Clean Pup Plan and The Social Pup Plan. The new lineup has been live across all Skiptown locations since July 1.

The relaunch arrives as demand for premium pet care accelerates nationally. The American Pet Products Association's State of the Industry Report states that the U.S. pet industry expenditures reached $158 billion in 2025 and are projected to climb to $165 billion in 2026. As more pet parents seek out higher-touch, more convenient care for their dogs, Skiptown built the relaunch around a clearer, more compelling case for why a plan is worth joining.

"The Skiptown Club is about giving pet parents more value from every visit while making it easier to give their dogs the care, enrichment and experiences they deserve," said Mike Rotondo, CEO of Skiptown. "We designed our plans around the way today's pet parents actually live, with flexibility, convenience and meaningful savings built in. Whether you're a frequent daycare guest, need regular grooming and bathing or simply want more ways to enjoy Skiptown with your dog, the Club helps our customers get more out of their experience."

The centerpiece of the relaunch is a full overhaul of the VIP Plan, which now bundles in everything from the Social Pup and Clean Pup Plans to a list of new, members-only extras, including:

- Unlimited free Bar & Park check-ins

- A complimentary pup treat at the Bar with every visit

- $5 bar + park guest passes for visiting pups. Humans are always free

- A monthly bath and towel dry, nail trim, ear cleaning, gland expression, and wellness check

- 25% off additional grooming services

- Twice-daily daycare reports

- 10% off daycare, boarding, walking, and bundle purchases

- A curated daycare enrichment experience each month

- Free early daycare drop-off

- A complimentary birthday party in the park every year

Skiptown estimates the refreshed plan delivers more than $1,000 in annual value. Pricing varies slightly by market, as low as $60 per month or $599 per year.

The former PupCare Plan has been renamed The Clean Pup Plan, a change designed to more clearly describe its grooming- and hygiene-focused benefits. Members receive a monthly nail trim, toothbrushing, ear cleaning, external gland expression and a bath with towel dry, along with a full wellness check of their pup's skin, coat and nails at every visit, plus 25% off additional grooming services.

Rounding out the lineup, the Social Pup Plan is built for pups who live for playtime. For just $25 a month across all markets, plan members get unlimited access to the Bar & off-leash Park, a complimentary treat with every visit and $5 guest passes so visiting pups can join in on the fun.

Across every plan, pup parents who commit to an annual plan receive the equivalent of two months free compared to paying monthly. The relaunch also reflects a broader shift away from traditional memberships, with guests now joining the Club and choosing their plan rather than signing up for a tier.

"The Skiptown Club is only possible because of our proprietary tech stack," said Liz Sims, Head of Product at Skiptown. "It allows us to own every layer of the experience, from booking to plan management to how pup parents interact with our team, so we can build something like the Club exactly the way we want it, instead of trying to force our vision into someone else's software."

Skiptown ended the second quarter of 2026 with 8,000 active memberships across its three locations, underscoring early momentum for the relaunched Club structure.

For more information about Skiptown and its franchise offering, visit https://skiptown.io

About Skiptown

Skiptown is a modern, tech-enabled dog care franchise and the ultimate destination for pups and their people, with locations in Charlotte, NC, Denver, CO, and Atlanta, GA, and plans for continued expansion across the United States. The brand provides a safe, engaging environment for dogs with daycare, overnight boarding, walking, bathing and grooming, all supported by an expertly trained team and a user-friendly mobile app. With a scalable business model, recurring revenue potential, and the rapidly growing pet care industry, Skiptown is a compelling long-term opportunity for franchise partners seeking to invest in a future-forward brand. To learn more about Skiptown and its franchise opportunities, visit skiptown.io.

Contact: Grace Skowron, Franchise Elevator PR, [email protected]

SOURCE Skiptown

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Gensyn Challenges Big Tech with the Industry's First Auditable AI Model

Open-1b lets anyone independently verify how it was trained, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability for future AI systems.

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Gensyn, the industry's leading decentralized AI lab, announced the launch of open-1b, a verifiable AI model designed to allow anyone to test and independently verify how it was trained.

As AI plays a growing role in human life, influencing personal and business decisions, transparency into its development remains closed off. Users have little insight into how these systems are built, trained, or shaped by data. Meanwhile, leaders from the world's largest AI companies continue to warn about the risks of the technology's rapid advancement.

Ben Fielding, Co-Founder and CEO of Gensyn, explained, "Auditable AI means a model's decisions do not have to come from a black box like Anthropic or OpenAI models. Today, Gensyn has unveiled the toolkit that allows someone to inspect the data that shaped it, verify the training process step by step, and understand why it reached a particular conclusion. To achieve our goals with Gensyn, we need AI models that anyone can trust and verify themselves without relying on a company's version of the truth. Open-1b is a tremendous milestone for the AI industry, proving a path toward verifiable AI, an absolute necessity for the future of intelligence."

How open-1b compares to existing AI models:

- Closed AI models (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT): Provide access to model outputs, while keeping training methodologies entirely proprietary.

- Open-weight models (e.g., Llama): Distribute model weights, but omit the underlying training process.

- Open-recipe models (e.g., OLMo): Offer both the model weights and the instructions used for training.

- Auditable AI (Gensyn's open-1b): Delivers the model, the training recipe, and verifiable proof allowing third parties to independently audit any stage of training.

Simply sharing an AI model's code and datasets is insufficient for true independent verification, as hardware variations frequently lead to inconsistent results. Gensyn addresses this fundamental challenge by providing infrastructure that ensures training outcomes can be accurately reproduced and verified across diverse hardware. Demonstrating this capability, open-1b lays the groundwork for fully auditable artificial intelligence.

Gensyn is moving AI transparency beyond disclosure to proof, giving people the tools to verify how a model was trained for themselves.

About Gensyn

Gensyn is a decentralized AI lab building forecasting systems that continuously improve by learning from real-world outcomes. Its technology combines verifiable AI infrastructure, which allows predictions to be checked against independently verified outcomes, with incentives for people to contribute new information that models have not previously seen. Together, these capabilities create a continuous cycle of prediction, verification, and learning.

Gensyn is backed by a16z crypto, CoinFund, Galaxy Digital, Eden Block, Maven 11, and more. For more information, visit gensyn.ai.

Media Contact

Michelle O'Connor

(415) 578-0156

[email protected]

SOURCE Gensyn

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Nearly 40 years after the band disbanded, an extraordinary discovery, a second forgotten cassette and advances in AI-assisted audio technology brought one of the group's last performances back to life

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 40 years after Illinois alternative rock trio Lucky Mary Blonde disbanded, the band's long-lost 1988 live recording is being released worldwide today on major streaming services as the album Lucky Mary Blonde LIVE! — completing one of the most unlikely journeys in the history of the group's music.

Lucky Mary Blonde emerged from the fertile Midwest alternative and college rock scene of the late 1980s. The trio's album Let the Moonlight Burn was released in December 1987 and climbed Midwest college radio charts the following year. The band performed at venues from Chicago to Memphis and opened for national acts before unexpectedly breaking up in late 1988.

The recordings that would eventually become the new live album began as private cassette tapes made directly from the sound board and stage microphones during one of the band's final performances in Carbondale, Illinois in 1988. They were never released publicly, never intended to become an album and, after the show, were immediately forgotten.

Nearly four decades later, one cassette was discovered by a friend of the band and ultimately sent to drummer John Baldus, based in St. Louis, Missouri. Baldus began experimenting with modern AI-assisted audio technology to clean up the recordings. AI technology made it possible to break down the aging two-track recording into multiple, individual vocal and instrumental stems. Separating the stems was only the beginning, some instruments and vocals were still stubbornly intertwined, and Baldus spent months repairing and working through the recordings piece by piece.

Baldus eventually moved the restoration into professional recording studios with engineers in St. Louis and Richmond, Virginia. The project ultimately became a year-long effort.

As the first cassette was processed in St. Louis, however, a serious problem emerged. Elements of the performance were missing, including portions of the guitar, backing vocals and the audience microphones that originally captured the energy of the concert.

"It was frustrating," Baldus recalled. "We knew there was something special in the performance, but important pieces were simply gone. I remember lamenting to the guys how difficult the audio was to work with and wished there was somehow another better copy of the tape."

That prompted bassist Jerry Tilk, based in Virginia, to scour hundreds of old cassettes sitting in storage for decades. After a painstaking search, he hit the jackpot: another missing cassette from the same 1988 show.

Tilk immediately sent it to the Richmond studio to be digitized. What happened next bordered on miraculous. The Richmond engineer reported that the second cassette was in good condition, but it seemed to contain only backing vocals, audience microphones and portions of the guitar.

For the band, it was a jaw-dropping revelation. The missing elements from the first cassette were not missing at all, they had been recorded on the second cassette. The two recordings contained complementary channels from the same performance. By digitally combining them, the restoration team could reconstruct the complete recorded show.

"At that moment, we realized this coincidence and chain of events were far too great to ignore. We were on a mission now to complete this project. After four decades, it really was amazing to put lost pieces of a puzzle back together," said Baldus.

Tilk long remembered that some of Lucky Mary Blonde's best songwriting came after the release of its first album. "I regretted that our post-album writing was never recorded. When we found and heard the tapes, we realized those songs actually had been recorded, they were just lost. It simply became a matter of restoring the recording to original concert quality. This is one positive aspect of AI. We had an opportunity to resurrect these great songs."

The result is a 16-song live album featuring 11 previously unreleased songs alongside five songs originally recorded for Let the Moonlight Burn .

For guitarist and songwriter Todd Baxter, hearing the performances again was about more than recovering old recordings. Now based in Florida, Baxter commented, "I hadn't heard these songs in 40 years. They capture a period of life of youth, tremendous energy and zeal, and listening to how well we performed them live, I just want to go back and pat these young guys on the back and tell them 'well done boys.'" Baxter wrote all of the songs on the live album and remains a prolific songwriter today.

Sometimes a lost recording is found. Sometimes it is found twice. And nearly 40 years later, the technology finally exists to hear what was there all along.

The complete Lucky Mary Blonde LIVE! album is being released worldwide today on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and other major digital music services.

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Website: www.luckymaryblonde.com

About Lucky Mary Blonde

Lucky Mary Blonde was an Illinois-based alternative rock trio that gained a loyal following throughout the Midwest college music circuit during the late 1980s. Following the release of Let the Moonlight Burn in 1987, the band toured extensively before disbanding in late 1988. The Lucky Mary Blonde LIVE! album documents one of the group's final performances and preserves a chapter in independent college rock history.

SOURCE Lucky Mary Blonde

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