The LoCo Experience

The Noco Pulse | Week of June 15

Welcome back to The NoCo Pulse for the week of June 15, where we keep our finger on the pulse of what's moving in Northern Colorado. Kurt Bear joins Kelsi Harris to bring you the latest community news, business updates, and local highlights as baseball season heats up and Northern Colorado families navigate the whirlwind that is summer. What's moving features insights from the FCP Insider event with Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, revealing that Colorado is experiencing negative migration for the first time in years. The biggest challenge holding Northern Colorado back is workforce availability, with workers moving out for more affordable housing and lower taxes in other states. The young and educated workforce isn't growing fast enough to support business expansion, which is why Chambers and the NoCo Foundation are focusing heavily on housing production and affordability. In related real estate news, the NoCo Foundation announced the purchase of the Council Tree Library from Poudre Libraries, with plans to move in around 2028 when the new community center is completed. Behind the scenes at the Greeley Stampede, which runs June 24th for its 104th annual event, the dirt of the rodeo arena is constantly on the move. The footing award winning surface requires year round maintenance including a dirt zamboni for grading, rock removal machines working over the old riverbed, and immediate overnight dirt turning after concerts to keep it fluffy for the next day's rodeo. Community gatherings spotlight Ginger and Baker's second murder mystery event called Farm to Floor on August 18th, with tickets available now after the May event sold out. FoCo's fifth annual Juneteenth celebration takes place Friday June 19th and Saturday June 20th, starting with a youth gathering at the Cultural Enrichment Center and kickoff concert at Foothills Mall on Friday, followed by a community bike ride from Washington Park to Foothills Mall on Saturday featuring yoga, concerts, and vendors throughout the day. Ken's Automotive hosts the second annual Power Wheels 500 electric car race on Saturday June 20th from 10 AM to 1 PM, featuring classes from 12 volt to 24 volt in modified and non modified categories, free to attend with food and drink available. Keeping the beat features Off the Hook Arts Music Spoke Series running all week with the COA String Quartet Recital on Friday June 19th at 5:30 PM in the gorgeous Northern Hotel building lobby, featuring members of the Dolly String Quartet. Verboten's 5th Street Block Party happens June 20th from 1 PM to 10 PM, co hosted with 477 Distilling and Comic Chicken, featuring live music from Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears, the Grant Saban Trio, food trucks, vendors, and abundant shade as three downtown Loveland businesses come together to activate 5th Street. Community support highlights the Junior League of Fort Collins Garden Tour on June 27th from 8 AM to 1 PM in the old Fort Collins High School neighborhood near the CSU University Arts Center, featuring open gardens, a block party, kid zone, vendors, and food trucks including the Taco Man. Bike to Work Day returns June 24th with free tune ups available all around town at stations along bicycle routes, perfect for businesses looking to serve the community and get staff involved for a couple hours. Business news celebrates the State of Business event by the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce on June 24th from 4 to 6 PM at the Anheuser Busch Beer Garden. This signature annual event draws three to five hundred people for just $25 and features regionally known speakers, updates from city and county leaders, and highlights from the recently released workforce study that the Chamber heavily funded. Food picks feature Tres Amigos Mexican Restaurant in downtown Greeley, the second location from their Cheyenne Wyoming original that took over the Luna's space. Despite being overwhelmed during their first or second Friday coinciding with Blues Jam, the busiest night of the year in downtown Greeley, the food was amazing and the large margaritas are only $9. Canyons and Coals at Riverside presents an exclusive private chef event with Chef Billy on June 18th for $153, featuring a premium four course meal cooked over coals followed by a concert by At Least Wonder, perfect for that special date night experience. Special shout out to Friday Fest in downtown Greeley on June 19th, which will be Juneteenth specific in partnership with the Marcus Garvey Center for UNC, featuring traditional Juneteenth colors of black, green, red, and yellow. Tag us at The NoCo Pulse to share how you're supporting local. Stay connected, NoCo.

LoCo Experience #273 | Drink Like a Viking! - The Joy and Journey of Mead with Matt Ackerman

In today’s conversation on The LoCo Experience, I was joined by Matt Ackerman, a Co-Founder of and Brand Ambassador for Meadkrieger Meadery in downtown Loveland, Colorado.  Matt developed a taste for mead while exploring his passion for music, and was a semi-professional touring musician for several years before taking on a new challenge -  imagining and creating a production meadery and tasting room experience fit for a king - or for a Viking!   Matt shared some interesting stories from his metal-band days, and more interesting was the exploration of the tradition and process of making mead - honey-wine, basically, most popular in the times and lands of the Vikings.  Mead is an open palette in many ways, and Matt is continuing to develop his skills by studying Chemical Engineering at CSU.  And - you can’t just make the mead, you gotta move it - and so we explored distribution channels, production timelines and staffing, and how to draw people into community after so many patterns were changed by the Covid response.   Also, make sure to stay for Matt’s sampling of our “Crazy Ginger” hot sauce - nordic genes don’t react well to habanero and ghost pepper.  It’s a fun time with an interesting guy, so please enjoy my conversation with Matt Ackerman.

The Noco Pulse | Week of June 8th, 2026

["Welcome back to the NoCo Pulse for the week of June 8th, 2026, We open with a heartfelt tribute to Matthew Fugate, a friend of the show and member of the community who passed away unexpectedly. Matthew was featured on The LoCo Experience podcast episode 197 alongside his fiancée Gabrielle Judge, and he participated in multiple Wild West relay races. Our hearts go out to Gabby and his family during this difficult time. What's moving features Chef Fat Dan's All In Kitchen, a new food truck launching from the former head chef of Locust Cider. After Locust Cider closed their Fort Collins taproom in January 2026 despite having their best year, Chef Fat Dan spent six months planning his next venture with the slogan "take whisks go all in. The Fort Collins Aggies FC launched as a pre professional soccer team in alignment with CSU and serves as an expansion team for the women's professional soccer league. Catch their last two home games June 19th and 25th at the soccer field by Moby Arena, and listen for the upcoming LoCo Experience podcast episode on June 22nd featuring coaches Keely Hagen and Jamie Beamer Halsey. Community gatherings spotlight the FoCo Fringe Festival returning after a six year hiatus following COVID, running June 11th through 14th at venues spread throughout town similar to FoCo MX style. Over 50 performances feature theater, film, dance, and performing arts described as the unexpected, the beautiful, and the raw, with some free events and outdoor performances requiring no tickets. Open Stage Theatre Company presents The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Center for Creativity running June 11th through July 11th, with Thursday June 11th as pay what you can night and regular tickets starting at $18. Keeping the beat features Yonder Mountain String Band performing at Mishawaka on June 13th with $50 general admission tickets. The OG jamgrass band formed in 1999 in Nederland and pioneered the bluegrass plus fusion rock psychedelic sound described as improvised groovy bluegrass. Community support highlights the 19th annual Taste event on Thursday June 11th at the Forge Event Center in Loveland, featuring restaurants and chefs from throughout Northern Colorado with tickets starting at $70. Proceeds benefit Foothills Gateway and Summit Stone Child and Family Services, organizations supporting families staying together and providing disability services. The Stronger Together Summit gathers 150 nonprofit leaders on July 30th at TPC golf club in Berthoud for a half day of networking, interactive workshops, and breakout sessions focused on practical collaboration and helping nonprofits understand who does what really well instead of trying to do everything themselves. Business news celebrates Fort Collins Country Club completing a major remodel of their restaurant and clubhouse area, bringing the club up to modern standards with membership and enthusiasm at a 20 year high. Young families, kids, and busy pools mark the transformation, with the fourth annual LoCo Next Level Summit scheduled there for September 17th. Food picks feature Tacos Diablo at the FoCo Food Truck Rally, who adjusted their prices mid service and delivered delicious horchata with that grainy bottom texture showing it was freshly mixed, plus excellent carne asada burritos with sauce that tastes a little different than most burritos. Kurt shares his leftover hash recipe, combining smoked brisket, smoked potatoes, breakfast taco remnants, and pizza scraps all chopped and fried in a cast iron pan until crispy, then topped with fried eggs that run their yolk through the hash for a perfect cleaning out the fridge summer meal. Shout out to the sister in law who checked out the new downtown Greeley Edison's location and confirmed it's as amazing as expected. We want to hear what you're doing to support local in smaller towns like Timnath, Johnstown, and Berthoud. Stay connected, NoCo."

Aligning Heart-Math and Pencil-Math with Clint Jasperson, CFP Founder of Purpose Driven

In today’s episode of The LoCo Experience, I welcomed back Clint Jasperson, Founder and Managing Partner of Purpose Driven Wealth, a Thrivent Financial wealth management office.  Clint has been a member of LoCo Think Tank for nearly 5 years, and shared in part the blessing he finds there is a safe place for diverse opinions - rather than the crazies yelling at each other from the corners of the internet as we might believe if we spend too much time online.   Clint and I spoke more about mindset than toolkit in this conversation, especially how we can reconcile our heart-math and our pencil-math with intentional conversation and reflection.  We also touched on how a planning office can add the most value to a conversation far ahead of a liquidity event - i.e. the sale of a business, how protection and wealth-building must both be considered, and what the next chapter of growth looks like for his business.  He’s a philosopher not just a CFP, and I’m thankful to have Purpose Driven Wealth as a sponsor of The LoCo Experience podcast.  Clint faces down his own Purpose Driven Questions like a pro in this one, so tune in and enjoy my conversation with Clint Jasperson.

The Noco Pulse | Week of June 1st

The Noco Pulse | Week of May 25th

Welcome back to the NoCo Pulse for the week of May 25th, featuring special guest host Patrick Sukup from the Living in Fort Collins YouTube channel while Curt Bear is away. Patrick joins Kelsi Harris of This is NoCo and Discover NoCo Magazine to bring you the latest community news, business updates, and local highlights as we kick off Memorial Day weekend and welcome summer to Northern Colorado. What's moving features Miles Beyond Running Community gearing up for their Weld Your Metal Running Festival happening May 30th and 31st in Eaton, offering distances from 7K all the way to ultra marathon on private property complete with saunas, cold plunges, camping, and mountain views. In major real estate news, Shake Shack opens May 31st at the Shops Along College at Foothills Mall, but the bigger story is the McWhinney family selling the Shops Along College portion to a national investment firm while retaining the mall itself. This sale should finally provide the capital needed to move forward with the long awaited redevelopment plans, including removing 200,000 square feet and creating an open air concept after years of stagnation due to development costs and challenges. Meanwhile, the Toy Library continues operating in a massive discounted space inside the mall, now hosting game nights and community gatherings in addition to their toy lending program. Community gatherings spotlight Ginger and Baker's eighth annual Dog Flower Crown Photo Day on Saturday May 31st, a free event where you can bring your four legged friends for flower crowns and portraits with RSVP requested on their website. Plantiness, founded by Monica in 2020, celebrates her birthday this week by giving away free plants Thursday May 28th at Old Town Music during Thursday Night Live featuring The Burrows. Monica has given away over 5,000 free plants since starting her happiness spreading mission and hosts pop ups and collaborations with tattoo artists, The Crowded Bookshelf, and other local makers. Downtown Loveland hosts their monthly Downtown Dress Up Night on the fourth Saturday with May's theme being Gala Night starting at 5 PM, when all downtown shops hold specials and events perfect for busting out those fancy clothes you rarely get to wear. Community support highlights Outreach Fort Collins, a nonprofit that serves as a buffer between the public and police by working with individuals experiencing mental health crises or substance use issues who aren't necessarily breaking the law. The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area Foundation hosts their art show and gala Tuesday June 2nd at the Visit Fort Collins Welcome Center, with all proceeds supporting river cleanup efforts, volunteer programs, and education about the heritage and history of the Cache la Poudre River. Business news celebrates local chefs Bri and Carmel, who are launching pop up events this year after working in high end eateries across Northern Colorado. They offer private chef experiences, catering, and company events, bringing their culinary expertise directly to your home or venue. Food picks feature Smoke and Rose Barbecue at the FoCo Food Truck Rally, serving incredible brisket mac and cheese and brisket nacho fries with friendly service perfect for families. The FoCo Food Truck Rally runs every Tuesday under new ownership, with Discover NoCo Magazine sponsoring this season and planning fun content nights throughout summer. Don't forget the Downtown Loveland Authority is giving away $100 every week to someone who shops downtown during construction, and yes it's real because Kelsi's in laws actually won. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and welcome to summer, NoCo. Tag us at The NoCo Pulse to share how you're supporting local. Stay connected, NoCo.

Passion and Perseverance with Ryan and Sarah Woodland

I was honored to share time in studio with Ryan and Sarah Woodland recently, and I’m proud to call Ryan a member of LoCo Think Tank, and a friend.  In the 3+ years I’ve known Ryan, he’s grown his Woodland Home Marketplace from a $500K business into a ~$2MM / year and profitable operation - and largely worked himself out of a role for the company.  And - he’s been developing his skills acquired from decades of contracting, fix and flips, and custom home building - and has been building his systems to manage a 56-unit luxury patio home semi-custom production build project.   Sarah is co-founder of Woodland Family Homes, but spends most of her time in brokerage at Orr Land Company - which was founded by her grandfather.  She met Ryan when she was living in California - but was preparing to move back to NoCo - but decided to stay a while - and soon brought Ryan back to his deep family roots in NoCo going back to the 1800’s.  Ryan and Sarah trace their journey of passion for community and real estate - and business - and the journey of this family legacy project.   Not to miss in this episode is a LoCo Experience story from Ryan’s firefighting days in California, during EMS training - when a dirty needle from a regular customer poked him in the elbow - and caused a systemic infection that put him in the ICU and almost killed him.  So - please tune in - and enjoy - my conversation with Ryan and Sarah Woodland.

The Noco Pulse | Week of May 18th

Welcome back to the NoCo Pulse as we navigate the whirlwind that is May in Northern Colorado. Someone at soccer described it perfectly: "How's your May December going?" That busy energy perfectly captures this week's packed episode of community news, business updates, and local highlights. What's moving features Miles Beyond Running Community gearing up for their Weld Your Metal Running Festival on May 30th and 31st in Eaton, offering everything from a 7K run walk to ultra distance events complete with saunas, glamping, and mountain views. Following that is the Red White and Brew race on July 20th in Water Valley, closing at the Grainry at the Raynets, and the Greeley Freedom 5K downtown on July 4th. Bass Pro Shops is moving into their massive new 130,000 square foot location at the Brands at the Ranch, an 18 acre development that adds to NoCo's already impressive outdoor retail scene including Scheels, Jax locations, and Sportsman's Warehouse. Joyride is looking to move into NoCo as a bike cafe combining bike repair services with a coffee shop and cafe, founded by Rebe of Rebe Explores and focused on creating inclusive outdoor spaces for everyone from beginners to experts. Community gatherings spotlight Ginger and Baker's eighth annual Dog Flower Crown Photo Day on May 31st, a free event where you can bring your four legged friends for flower crowns and portraits with donations collected for Animal Friends Alliance. The Blues and Cruise car show comes to downtown Loveland May 30th from 10 to 3 featuring classic cars and electric guitars, not to be confused with the Blues and Brews festival on June 5th. Local musician Aubrey Dale releases her debut album Fireweed on May 24th at the Rング for just $29 including a free beverage, sponsored by Greeley Hat Works. Keeping the beat features the fifth annual A Brothers Fountain ABF at the Farm event on June 6th below Devil's Backbone in Loveland, with $30 suggested donation and 10% of proceeds benefiting Loveland Community Kitchen. The Global Sounds Music Festival returns to Old Town Fort Collins on May 30th, a free festival from noon to 6 PM on the big stage bringing music from around the world, presented by the Bohemian Foundation. Dancers from the suddenly closed Canyon Concert Ballet have partnered with Bas Bleu Theatre to present their Swan Song final performance May 22nd through 24th after raising funds to rent the space and pay the dancers. Community support highlights Breeze Thru Car Wash's fundraising program where organizations can raise money the second full weekend of every month through October 31st, with Breeze Thru matching dollar for dollar every donation made at their pay stations. The Boys and Girls Club of Larimer County celebrates 40 years with their Great Futures Gala on May 30th at the Lory Student Center Ballroom, featuring cocktail attire, complimentary drinks, elegant dinner, live auction, and recognition of youth and champions for children. Business news celebrates Verbal Bras, founded by Rebecca Thompson, a New Belgium senior executive assistant who created bras that support wearable breast pumps, saving working moms up to 30 minutes daily. The product has a utility patent and just started shipping this spring after Rebecca discovered the challenges three years ago when she had her daughter. Food picks feature Aloha Poke and Boba on College Avenue near Noodles and Chipotle, serving delicious poke bowls with exceptional service that even got the kids involved and eating. Friendly Nick's Butcher on Lemay Avenue offers the best quality meats from local sustainable farms, amazing house made beef jerky, Nick's Sticks, dog bones, stock, and fresh beef liver, plus they do incredible community work from fundraisers to food baskets to hosting art contests for kids. Tag us at The NoCo Pulse to share how you're supporting local. Stay connected, NoCo.

Faith in Action with Jeff Faust, Lead Pastor of Vineyard Church of the Rockies

I met Jeff Faust last summer, when I learned about and toured the bones of the Love FoCo Resource Center - and got to know him better at their benefit golf tournament last fall - which was my favorite “work” day of the year.  Love Foco  just held its ribbon cutting last month!  In this podcast, Jeff tells the tale of securing the real estate by gift, and the special community efforts that were made to build out the space into a full-service community health and resource center.   We also zoomed back with Jeff to his earlier chapters, including hands-on service work in the grittiest parts of Kansas City, his grooming as the future Lead Pastor of an established church there - and having a literal vision/call from God to head West and how he followed the call to Fort Collins.   Jeff is as entrepreneurial of a guy as you’ll ever get to know, and a heck of a communitarian - so please enjoy, as I did, my conversation with Jeff Faust!

The Noco Pulse | Week of May 11th

Welcome back to the NoCo Pulse as we kick off the second week of May following a surprise snow day that had Northern Colorado kids out of school and riding bikes by afternoon. This week we're covering community news, business updates, and local highlights while celebrating the resilience and energy that makes NoCo special. What's moving features Miles Beyond Running Community and their upcoming Weld Your Metal Running Festival on May 30th and 31st in Eaton. This 146 acre private property event offers distances from a 7K run walk up to 100 miles, plus a 36 hour total mileage contest, complete with camping, glamping, sauna, cold plunge, massage, and mountain views. We also share an update on Mandy Mullen's attempt at the Cocodona 250 in Arizona. While she didn't finish, making it past the 155 mile mark before missing the time cutoff is an incredible achievement worth celebrating. Kudos to Don't Ember Productions for traveling with her to document the journey. On a sadder note, Saffron Scoops and Bites, the Indian restaurant and ice cream shop, has permanently closed but shared plans to return bigger and better than ever. Community gatherings spotlight Ginger and Baker's Murder Mystery Party coming up May 19th, with only about a dozen tickets remaining for the Baker's Half Dozen event. Fork Fun celebrates 25 years this summer, operating two mini golf courses, go kart track, laser tag, arcade, bumper boats, and restaurant while gifting millions of dollars of free usage to nonprofit children's causes like Boys and Girls Clubs, Matthews House, and Respite Care over the years. Friday Fest returns to downtown Greeley June 5th through August 7th, kicking off with the blues jam and featuring the go cup program where you can carry open alcohol from participating restaurants into 9th Street Plaza during events. Keeping the beat highlights the Loud Frame Film Festival coming to the Lyric May 22nd through 24th, an international film festival created by the same mind behind EDIY Horror Film Fest. They're seeking volunteers and vendors for the event. Thursday Night Live Concert Series returns May 28th for 16 consecutive weeks at Old Town Square, starting with The Burrows and their nine piece lineup at 7 PM, perfect for families and kids ready to dance. Community support features Stay: A Night of Metal and Hope, a metal concert at The Sound Bar on May 17th benefiting the Suicide Prevention Alliance of Larimer County. We share an inspiring story of Shana from a local cleaning company who moved to NoCo two years ago from Columbus, Ohio with her daughter in her car on gas cards. After her car broke down, a daily rental owner gifted her a vehicle for $250 with new tires and fresh oil, House of Neighborly Services helped with housing, and she's now thriving with stable housing, a $4 raise, and representing her cleaning agency at networking groups across Fort Collins. Business news celebrates Andrew Johnson with Business Networking Done Right, a former BNI director who started his own brand and has grown to four chapters with 20 members each. He's hosting a lunch and learn workshop May 20th through the Loveland Chamber on Building Stronger Referral Relationships, open to anyone for $30 including lunch. Shout out to Dixie Daly, who's everywhere in the community from creating pink coffee with Top of the Light Coffee to being named grand marshal for the upcoming Larimer County parade. She's also running for some kind of entrepreneur of impact recognition worth voting for. Food picks feature The Taco Stop, nationally recognized by USA Today, serving incredible tacos al carbon so full you can barely pick them up, led by classically trained chef Caesar from Mexico City. Yellow Crunch Colombian Restaurant opened their massive new location at The Exchange in the former Crooked Stave space, featuring giant murals by artists flown in from Colombia and a 12 by 20 foot television screen in a beautiful 3500 square foot space. Important announcement: The LoCo PULSE is officially becoming the NoCo PULSE in the coming weeks and getting its own RSS feed, making it easier for listeners who love the weekly community news format to find and follow along. Shout out to Laughing Buck Farm for being weekly listeners and sharing the podcast with their entire newsletter. They offer markets, vegetable swaps, and kids summer camps including homesteader camp and horse camp, plus a nonprofit supporting gardening and vegetables for people in our community. Stay connected, NoCo.