The LoCo Experience

In this episode of The LoCo Experience Podcast, I sat down with Dustin Peyser, the Founder and President of the Timnath Chamber of Commerce. Dustin shares how he co-founded the chamber alongside the early adopters and supporters, driven by his passion for local business and community building. 

We discuss the chamber's rapid growth to 55 members and his innovative initiatives like the 'Click Local' business listing platform. Dustin was inspired and supported throughout by his wife Crystal, a likely future guest on the show.  For Dustin, creating a Timnath Chamber is a bit of a legacy project, and a way to truly be a part of the community he loves.  

After jumping into the time machine, Dustin recounts his move from upstate New York to California and eventually to Timnath, Colorado, overcoming insecurities and challenges along the journey, and ends with a truly LoCo Experience - an emotional story of his near-arrest upon returning from a cruise - over a paperwork mixup with the military that had him labeled as AWOL from a decade prior.  He’s a fun guy, and a fellow communitarian, and I know you’ll enjoy my conversation with Dustin Peyser.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

This week, we share NOCO community updates, starting with the March 14 Lucky Brew Races in Windsor (plus corned beef, green beer, and bounce houses). They spotlight Origin Plumbing, Heating, A/C & Electric expanding across Northern Colorado and Bloom Play Lab moving to Loveland after purchasing Mama Bear’s Play Cafe for imaginative (and messy) play ages 2–6. 

Events include Ginger and Baker’s March 14 Pie Day “pie madness,” the return of the Fort Collins St. Patrick’s Day parade (with festival), plus Greeley’s Blarney on the Block and Wellington’s festival—featuring Curt’s siren-blaring “Tank” ambulance camper. 

Music picks: Charlie Stevens Band at the Aggie (March 12) and California Honey Drops at Washington’s (March 21). 

Fundraisers include a March 10 Verboten pint night/fun run/sauna for Matthews House and CASA’s Night of Hope (April 2), plus the Unstoppable Business Conference (May 6). 

They end with Saffron Scoops & Bites’ spiced Indian ice cream and Curt’s butter-and-garlic salmon recipe.

What a week, NOCO.

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

My guest on today’s podcast was Carolyn Johnson, Founder & CEO of GuardUs Innovations. A mechanical engineer with a background in biology and product development, Carolyn became fascinated by the wolf reintroduction in Colorado - and especially with the lack of success that livestock predation deterrents were having.  The costs to the state of Colorado have grown well beyond projections already, and if the wolves are to grow in number the livestock encounters must become more rare or the project will be unsustainable to the state and to ranchers.  

Enter GuardUs Innovations, Carolyn’s product and software start-up which uses collars on the animals - especially cattle and sheep - equipped with sensors, lights, and noises - and all AI-informed and networked - to keep the wolves away.  GuardUs products also work on other predators such as big cats and bears and even ravens from choosing livestock as what’s for dinner.  

Carolyn is in the thick of it, with beta product testing, fundraising, lobbying, and both hardware and software development in full swing.  She’s also hyper smart, and if my eye for talent is correct, it won’t be long before you’re reading about how GuardUs technology saved the wolf re-introduction project in Colorado - and is now keeping herds safer and ranchers more informed about their stock than ever before.  So tune in on the front end of this journey, and please enjoy, as I did, my conversation with Carolyn Johnson.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

Welcome to Loco Pulse, a podcast dedicated to the people, businesses, stories, and ideas shaping Northern Colorado. Each episode dives into the heartbeat of our community through authentic conversations with local leaders, creators, entrepreneurs, and change makers who are building something meaningful right here in NOCO. From business and culture to community impact and local insight, this podcast is where connection meets conversation.

Hosted by Curt Bear and Kelsi Harris, Loco Pulse brings engaging, real conversations that highlight the voices driving Northern Colorado forward.

Whether you're a business owner, community supporter, or simply passionate about where you live, this is your space to stay informed, inspired, and connected. We’re glad you’re here. Welcome to the conversation, welcome to the community, and welcome to LocoPulse.

Loco Pulse is a production of the The Loco Experience Podcast Network in collaboration with This Is NOCO, bringing together local voices and stories that celebrate and strengthen Northern Colorado.

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

I hosted a collaboration episode with Patrick Souku, Greg Roeder, and recently retired Fort Collins mayor Jenny Arnt to talk about what makes Fort Collins great and how to keep it that way. We introduced our backgrounds in local real estate, CSU teaching, podcasting, and city leadership, then debated what the city does best, highlighting parks and trails, Old Town, CSU-driven innovation, and a strong entrepreneurial culture. We discussed affordability and “brain drain,” and how keeping costs and friction low can support startups and community life. 

We unpacked Old Town parking by focusing on clearly defining the problem, partnering with downtown businesses, and recognizing that “free parking” isn’t free. Looking ahead three to five years, we were excited about regional investment and amenities but concerned about traffic, crime, and growing polarization. We talked about supporting local businesses, reducing red tape, and understanding how property taxes and insurance affect downtown tenants. 

We also explored CSU’s importance, with Greg expressing strong confidence in its future, and we closed by sharing what outsiders should know about Fort Collins’ kindness, culture, and water-centric lifestyle.

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

Dakota Collins was born the son of professional hippies - his mom worked in medicine, and dad in education - with construction on the side - and Dakota was raised largely free-range in the hills southwest of Fort Collins.  He was born with a club-foot, which required repeated casting to straighten, and which eventually caused him to develop scoliosis.  And then he discovered slacklining!  In a matter of months his spine was straight and his life transformed, and he soon travelled the nation and the world as a professional slackliner, motivational speaker, and adventurist!  

He later co-founded Breathe - a mindful community featuring yoga, extreme slacklining, meditation and more - and met his now wife at a Breathe festival - where they spent the full week together, and then she immediately joined the man she’d just met on a 30-day backpacking trip in Alaska.  I write all this to share the notion that when Dakota Collins does stuff - he does it all the way!  

Dakota founded Grey Rock Landscape and Construction in the fall of 2020, and hired his teenage sister to mow lawns, and built the business to 4 full-time employees before he quit his full-time job with Larimer County.  Now 5 years in and 18 employees strong, Grey Rock has become one of the premier landscape design and installation companies in Northern Colorado.  And it’s all about culture.  It seems everyone loves Dakota, and you will too - so please tune in and enjoy my conversation with Dakota Collins.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

In today’s episode of The LoCo Experience, I welcomed Nate Hines back into the studio for his second appearance - with the agreement that he gets to interview me for the second half of the show!  Nate was our final guest of Season 4, (Episode 200) - and in 2025 he executed the strategy he shared in our previous conversation - acquiring and integrating three water engineering firms!  

Hines Inc. is the leading voice in the #waterfirst movement, which encourages developers and property owners to consider water first when designing anything from a residential landscape plan to a city park to a major subdivision.  This can save 30% or more on install, 30% or more on maintenance, and increase the longevity of systems through professional management.  We zoomed in on Nate’s skills-building journey, which included bruising lessons from a failed merger, and the support and encouragement of an advisory board along the way.  

For the second half of the show, Nate interviewed your host, Curt Bear.  We discussed the philosophies that drive our policies at LoCo Think Tank, my why in becoming a small-L libertarian, and we closed with a selection of LoCo Experiences from yours truly - specifically, a quick tour of the five times I’ve nearly killed myself and my wife in raging rivers, on mountain passes, or on a motorcycle! - so please tune in and enjoy my conversation with Nate Hines.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

Today’s episode features Kris Buchanan, Founder of Phase Three Product Development and Co-Founder and CEO of RedDrop Dx.  RedDrop Dx has developed an FDA-approved, pain-free blood collection device that is used at home!  Drawing on years of experience designing medical instrumentation and microfluidic systems, he and his partners set out to solve the “blood acquisition” problem as a standalone, scalable solution rather than a one-off component tied to a single test.

RedDrop offers a simple at-home kit that uses heat to bring capillary blood close to the skin’s surface, followed by a quick, virtually painless micro-needle activation that creates tiny openings and applies gentle vacuum to collect blood. The process avoids nerve stimulation, reduces contamination, and produces a consistent, lab-ready sample. RedDrop is FDA-cleared and sold business-to-business, primarily to diagnostic companies, healthcare providers, and testing services. 

Kris is one of those sneaky entrepreneurs that fly under the radar, employing ~25 leading edge engineers at Phase Three Product Development - which his son Will is now managing - and changing the world of data collection (via blood) in the medical space.  You’ll be sure to hear more about him and RedDrop Dx in the years ahead, but start here and please enjoy my conversation with Kris Buchanan.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

Now This is NOCO! - Ben & Kelsi Harris, Owners of This is NOCO and the NEW Discover NOCO Magazine

On today’s episode of The LoCo Experience podcast, I’m excited to introduce Ben & Kelsi Harris to our listeners!  They are the owners of the This is NOCO media company, and recently expanded their offerings through acquisition of Discover Fort Collins magazine - which will be adding editorial and community content and rebranding as Discover NOCO this spring!  

And - they’ve recently come aboard the team for The LoCo Experience podcast - Ben in production and Kelsi managing social media and Co-Hosting a new short-form Business & Community News segment on The LoCo Experience!  

Ben & Kelsi came back to Northern Colorado in 2020, escaping Covid-nation in California, where they worked together at a Christian camp - and Ben rekindled his production business, The Hype and the Heart at that time.  The opportunity to acquire NOCO Date Nights Instagram page surfaced in January 2024, and they’ve grown their following and rebranded to This is NOCO in the summer of 2025.  They are all about local, and together, we’re LoCo for Local, and so please welcome to the show - and to the team - and enjoy my conversation with Ben & Kelsi Harris of This is NOCO!

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

In this episode of the LoCo Experience Podcast, I had an intriguing conversation with Johnny Fimple, Founder of Resonate, a Fimple Plan.  Johnny is a business coach, and shared his journey from being a passionate drummer in the music industry to pioneering a unique coaching perspective centered on improving employee-customer interactions. 

We delved into his early years as a musician and music store manager in San Francisco, his transition into the restaurant and retail sectors, and how his personal and professional life evolved, including meeting his wife Natalia.  Resonate focuses on enhancing business communications and fostering a positive work culture, driven by Johnny's vast experience and genuine enthusiasm for helping others succeed. 

His approach combines practical business wisdom with the improvisational spirit of a jazz band; he shared a lot of Fimple wisdom, and we shared a lot of laughs, so please tune in and enjoy my conversation with Johnny Fimple. 

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain