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 opened in Wellington on Friday June 19th. Serving Walrus ice cream alongside their signature dirty sodas, the shop has spent considerable time restoring the building back to its original design, creating a beautiful space worth the drive north. In major infrastructure news, the Northern Colorado Regional Airport breaks ground on a $20 million runway expansion funded by an FAA grant. This expansion should set the pace for more commercial flights in the future, bringing Northern Colorado one step closer to not having to drive all the way to DIA, though tower issues and other logistics still need resolution.

Community gatherings spotlight Play House Productions hosting another murder mystery event at Peculiar Brewing on Tuesday June 23rd, with tickets still available after their Ginger and Baker event sold out. Speaking of Ginger and Baker, their next murder mystery party is scheduled for August 18th, so grab tickets early. Fort Fun celebrates 25 years with a special event on July 9th featuring $25 tickets for four hours of unlimited play including go karts, bumper boats, giant slide, laser tag, plus $5 arcade credit and extras. Fort Fun has given millions of dollars and facility use to kids throughout their quarter century in business. The Poudre River Whitewater Park at Vine Drive near the Interspheres offers perfect tubing conditions right now with flow as good as it's going to get this year, featuring rocks to sit on and opportunities to soak your feet or tube down the river with family.

Keeping the beat features the Okie Dokie Brothers performing the first ever family focused concert at Live at the Garden series on July 18th at the Gardens at Spring Creek. The folksy family band performs adventure style songs about going into the wilderness, with $29 flat tickets and free admission for kids one and under, plus local food trucks and ice cream. Also on July 18th, the Blues Dogs perform at the Blues and Brews Crawl in Windsor sponsored by Bank of Colorado, with $10 tickets including snacks and appetizers at the Kula's great patio and indoor seating, featuring vocalist Megan from Realities for Children who has arguably the best voice in town alongside her dad who leads the band.

Community support highlights Breeze Through Car Wash doing everything they can to conserve and protect Northern Colorado's water supply during this low snowpack year, supporting river cleanups and water focused foundations to ensure water remains precious in our community. Country Kickup hosts their annual Barn Dance at the Greeley Stampede on Sunday June 28th, included with Stampede admission tickets. The country line dance and swing dancing nonprofit organization supports other nonprofits, meaning every time you dance with Country Kickup you're actually supporting nonprofits in the community, with a lesson first followed by social dancing. Shout out to The Mayorettes, featured on LoCo Experience episode 274, as Kerrie Lugenbill, Jackie Stevens, and Giuli Diaz continue their full time work lifting up community and helping people connect with nonprofits and small businesses doing good deeds.

Business news celebrates the State of Business event by the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday June 24th at the Anheuser Busch Beer Garden.

Food picks feature Ghost Dog Deli in Wellington, run by Chris and Brandy Skinner who met in another kitchen and bonded over their desire to open their own restaurant. They make house made ciabatta with careful attention to ingredients, and Brandy designed the adorable space herself, making it a perfect motorcycle ride destination. Kurt shares his watermelon stick technique for seedless watermelons, cutting them into three quarter inch sticks with just a little handle of skin, creating a mess free eating experience perfect for summer backyard gatherings, and yes he's a salt on watermelon person.

Special announcement that this is the second to last episode of The NoCo Pulse, with one final episode coming July 6th. Kurt and Kelsi aren't going anywhere, with Kurt continuing The LoCo Experience podcast and LoCo Think Tank, and Kelsi continuing This Is NoCo and Discover NoCo Magazine. Thank you to all the partners including Breeze Through, Ginger and Baker, Run Windsor, and Miles Beyond.

Tag us at The NoCo Pulse to share how you're supporting local. Stay connected, NoCo.