All Episodes

In today’s episode, I sat down with Tara Rasmuson, Owner/Publisher of Greeley Lifestyle Magazine and VP of Land for Bear Lake Resources. I’ve gotten to know Tara a bit over the past few months, and suspected there was a good story there - and she did not disappoint. The star of her recent journey has been Greeley Lifestyle Magazine, which she purchased in the fall of 2020, and launched in early 2021 - with 40 pages of content! When she began, she was in an open-book season of sorts - she’d been...

In today's conversation, I was joined by two highly active representatives from northern Colorado from United for youth, formerly NoCo unify this organization of under 40 business leaders has been among the most active fundraising organizations in Northern Colorado since its founding in 2007. 00:00:17:17 - 00:00:32:14 Speaker 1 They're the creators of some of the best parties in the region the Down in Derby Party, Every Me and the Suitcase Party every August, which we were on the heels of as we ...

Today, I’m here recording from the Fort Collins Food Truck Rally (https://www.focofoodtruckrally.com/) - where we’ve got the Tank parked in a row of food trucks and trailers - because this episode comes out tomorrow and we needed to use the just-in-time machine! For this week’s episode, I sat down with Craig Woodall, retired Educator, Speaker, Coach, and Author of the new book “Overcome - Rebuilding Hope After Losing My Brother on 9/11”. Craig retired as the Principal of Rocky Mountain High Sch...

In today’s podcast, I sat down with Chris Aronson and Jeff Fleischer, the Principals at VFLA in Fort Collins. VFLA has arguably been the leading architecture firm in Northern Colorado since its founding in 1986, and this year celebrates 40 years of service to the commercial and residential construction industries. My connection with VFLA goes back to my banking years in the late 90’s, but is personal because of the L that’s now missing. Justin Larson was my primary “highly-spirited canyon ridin...

In today’s podcast, I sat down with Sheri Ridgeway, CEO of Ridgeway Group Innovations (RGI for short), which she runs alongside her husband, Ross and she’s also the current Board Chair at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce. RGI has two divisions - one, a contract provider of technical support services to government agencies - and the other, a consulting business helping other small businesses do business with the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world - the US Federal Govern...

In today’s conversation I sat down with a pair of founders who also happen to be newlyweds! - Nima Mousavizadeh & Valeria Ortiz Mousavizadeh - of MO Benefits Consultants. Valeria is a returning guest, having been on Episode 115 as the founder of Vortiz Insurance - which she retains. Nima has been an impact player for Journey Payroll & HR since 2021, starting in sales, and moving through Director to VP to President of Strategic Growth & Partner before co-founding MO Benefits. When Valeria was on...

Today I was honored to sit down with longtime LoCo Think Tank member Glenn Frank, the CEO of Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning, along with his key leadership team today and into the future - Anthony Taylor and Jesse Frank. Anthony serves as President & COO, and Jesse as Quality Assurance Supervisor. We spent some time on the evolution of the business in recent years - the addition of plumbing - and then electrical to the Fort Collins Heating & Air offerings - and the relatively recent lau...

In May, I got an email from Albert Wolfe, sharing that he’s travelling to Fort Collins area visiting family soon, from Guangzhou, China, and that he loves what I’m doing with LoCo Think Tank, and has been listening to and enjoying The LoCo Experience podcast - and would I be interested to have him on as a guest? Flattery will get you everywhere with me, so of course I said yes - and we had one opening during his stay here - the day before his departure. In the meantime, we shared a pair of lunc...

When Andrew Johnson was yet a pre-teen, his older sister started taking dance classes - and he’d be dragged along. Soon, there was the inevitable odd-numbered class, and Andrew was volunteered to be partnered up - and it was quickly apparent to all - that boy can dance! Soon after, Andrew was training with private tutors, and entering Pro-Am competitions around the country - and later, around the world! He was farming with his family as his primary income source, also teaching dance classes and...

I had a ton of fun in today’s podcast - kind of a get-to-truly-know someone you’ve known and appreciated for 25 years already - Kelly Sage - FKA Kelly Jones - FKA Kelly Peters when we first met circa 2001. Kelly has worked in economic development since I first moved to Fort Collins in 1999, and was instrumental in the launch of the Rocky Mountain Innosphere and the Warehouse Business Accelerator, she’s served on more boards than I can count on both hands - and she’s currently the President and C...

In today’s conversation, I sat down with Matthew & Quint Redmond - and learned that Quint is also Matthew - Matthew Cook Redmond the 5th as it were - and I can safely say that it’s the first time I’ve been in a room with a 5th and a 6th of a family name. Quint is the Co-Founder and CEO of Agriburbia (https://agriburbia.com/) - along with his wife Jennifer - which began as a leading-edge consultancy in the area of sustainable real estate development. Helping people and agriculture live together, so to speak, and enabling high-efficiency food production in urban and suburban environments - built into the development plan! Their mission is to help create and integrate 30 million successful urban and suburban farmers. Matthew the 6th is leading their design and technology division, and is likely their future CEO. He has been incorporating automations and AI to help their systems provide optimal production - and is supporting an intentional pivot from a pure consultancy to a product-based …

Welcome back to The NoCo Pulse for the week of July 6th, 2026, where Curt Bear and Kelsi Harris bring you one final episode keeping our finger on the pulse of what's moving in Northern Colorado. We hope you had a safe 4th of July despite around 50 firework shows being canceled over the holiday weekend, and we're declaring our independence from the extra work of producing this show.\n\nWhat's moving features Copaco's Honey opening their second retail location at 237 Linden Street in Fort Collins....

My guest for today’s conversation was Bob Schaffer, Headmaster of Liberty Common School in Fort Collins, and Chairman of Leadership Program of the Rockies. Bob presented to my Rotary club a couple months back, and was kind enough to share time with me on The LoCo Experience podcast! Long before his focus on education - because he had yet no children - Bob got into politics mostly as a writer. His first real job was as an Intern/speechwriter for the Republican caucus in Ohio - and he was good at...

On today’s episode of The LoCo Experience podcast, Kristin Todd returns to share some updates from the NoCo Foundation. Kristin was previously my guest on Episode 136 - when she was yet fairly new in the role - so listeners might choose to tune into that episode for the deeper dive into her life and career journey. The biggest news up front - is that yet another past guest of The LoCo Experience has started a podcast! The NoCo Voices Podcast (https://nocofoundation.org/noco-voices-podcast) offi...

Welcome back to The NoCo Pulse for the week of June 22nd, 2026, 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 we celebrate the Weeks of Freedom between Juneteenth and the 4th of July, and watch countries from around the world come together for World Cup sleepovers. What's moving features the Dragon and Cone, an ice cream and dirty soda shop that just open...

In today’s episode, I sat down with The Mayorettes - which we’ll describe here as a lifestyle brand of sorts, focused on uplifting community through advocacy and connections in the small business and non-profit world of Northern Colorado. The Mayorettes is currently comprised of Kerrie Lugenbill, the very recently married Jackie formerly Christman now Stevens, and Giuli Diaz. Three full-time high-impact working professionals - sharing and combining their talents to move the needle toward generos...

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 migr...

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-...

["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 launc...

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 th...

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 F...

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 ...

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 compl...