The Flyovers

In this special episode of The Flyovers, host Alan Wartes talks with John Wittler, Regional Coordinator and Development Director of Ogallala Commons—a Great Plains region community advocacy non-profit. Wittler shares his vision for an OC program called the Youth Entrepreneur Fair—a kind of business incubator for young people in rural communities.

In this episode of The Flyovers, host Alan Wartes talks with Felix Belmont. Until his retirement from the airwaves at age 101 in November 2019, Belmont was one of the oldest—if not the oldest—working public radio DJs in America. In the 1970s he was instrumental in helping to found community station KVNF in Paonia, Colorado. His Big Band music show called Stop Time entertained listeners for decades. Felix is also a WWII veteran who shares his experience standing toe to toe with the Japanese army in the Aleutian Islands.

“Adding Some Zip to Rural Economics” is part seven in a series of eight special episodes of The Flyovers, underwritten in part by StartUp Colorado. In this episode, host Alan Wartes talks with Sarah Shrader, owner and co-founder of Bonsai Design in Grand Junction, Colorado. The company is a one-stop shopping center for the design and installation of world-class aerial adventure courses—from tree-top canopy tours to 3,000 foot zip lines.

“Mud, Methane and the Mad Scientist” is part six in a series of eight special episodes of the Flyovers, underwritten in part by StartUp Colorado. That's a non-profit organization devoted to serving entrepreneurs who live and work in the state's rural communities. In this episode, host Alan Wartes talks with Chris Caskey, founder and owner of the Delta Brick and Climate Company. Caskey is a chemist and materials scientist working to position his company to make a difference in several big picture environmental challenges at once.  

“Better Fences, Better World” is number five of eight special episodes of The Flyovers. The series is underwritten by StartUp Colorado, a non-profit helping rural entrepreneurs and businesses succeed off the beaten path. In this installment, host Alan Wartes talks with Ray Lyons, founder of Fence Easier, a Hartsel, Colorado company that’s changing how fences are made—and how businesses give back to their communities. 

“Built to Last” is the fourth of eight special episodes of The Flyovers. The series is underwritten by StartUp Colorado, a non-profit helping rural entrepreneurs and businesses succeed off the beaten path. In this installment, host Alan Wartes talks with John Wolgamott, co-founder of Durango-based high-pressure water blasting tools manufacturer, StoneAge. Established in 1979 in a garage workshop, the company is now a leader in a different kind of innovation—employee ownership.  

“Riding the Wave” is part three in a series of six special episodes of the Flyovers, underwritten in part by StartUp Colorado. That's a non-profit organization devoted to serving entrepreneurs who live and work in the state's rural communities. In this episode, host Alan Wartes talks with John Kelly, CEO of the Hemp Foundry in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The manufacture of CBD products — which are derived from hemp, and not to be confused with cannabis — is an industry that’s in the process of exploding all across the world. Kelly and his crew at the Hemp Foundry are at the leading edge of that wave.

"Black Sheep of the Business Family" is the second of six special episodes of The Flyovers. The series is underwritten by StartUp Colorado, a non-profit helping rural entrepreneurs and businesses succeed off the beaten path. In this installment, host Alan Wartes sits down with Lane Wilson, co-founder and production manager of Oveja Negra Bikepacking in Salida, Colorado. Wilson shares the company’s origin story from kitchen table to round-the-clock production. And she talks openly about the joys and challenges of manufacturing a sought-after product in a small town community.

"Why rural, why now?" is the first of six special episodes of The Flyovers. The series is underwritten by StartUp Colorado, a non-profit helping Colorado’s rural entrepreneurs succeed. Host Alan Wartes moderates a roundtable discussion between Russ Schnitzer, senior program officer for the Gates Family Foundation, and Enoch Elwell, co-founder of Co.Starters, a nationwide organization supporting rural entrepreneurs. It’s a wide ranging discussion of the promise — and the perils — of recent trends in small town economic development.