Loveland Reporter-Herald business briefs: New Champion Xpress Carwash, Old Town Putt anniversary

Champion Xpress opens Loveland carwash

Champion Xpress Carwash ​o​pened a new location in Loveland​ on Wednesday​ at 125 Knobcone Drive​.

To celebrate the opening, Champion Xpress will donate $1 per wash to Children’s Hospital Colorado as part of the Car Washes 4 Kids Initiative ​t​hrough May 22.

“Our Car Washes 4 Kids Initiative with Children’s Hospital Colorado is a key priority for Champion Xpress. We are blessed to have the opportunity to expand across the Colorado market. It is exceedingly important to our mission to give back to the communities that give so much to us,” Michael Murry, CEO of Champion Xpress Carwash​, said in a news release.

​Hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Champion Xpress Carwash is a family-owned and operated automated tunnel car wash company with​ 43 locations across New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois and Texas.

​The company has an expansion goal of 55 sites by the ​end of 2024.

For details, visit champxpress.com.

Old Town Putt to mark fifth anniversary

Old Town Putt ​i​n Fort Collins will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a party ​a​t noon-5 p.m. Sunday, May 19​, at  244 N​. College Ave.​, Suite 112.​The event will include free mini golf and raffle prizes every 15 minutes.

Old Town Putt ​has nine indoor mini-golf holes to play, a full bar, private arcade room and outdoor patio, and o​ffers drinks, mini golf, arcade, darts and ping pong​.

​“We are really excited to celebrate this milestone with the community,” owner Dana Snell​ said in a news release. “So much has happened over the past ​f​ive years and we’ve been constantly growing and adapting. Really looking forward to the next ​f​ive years for OTP and all the adventures along the way.”

T​he celebration event​ will offer raffles for merch​a​ndise and gift cards​,​ and free ​refreshments while supplies last.

For ​d​etails, visit ​oldtownputt.com.

Arapaho and Roosevelt forests hire new concessionaire

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests & Pawnee National Grassland have entered a public-private partnership with Vista Recreation.

The concessionaire is expected to develop recreation facilities on behalf of the Forest Service to better serve the public, and to maintain and improve Forest Service facilities, according to a news release.

Concessionaires have been operating forest campgrounds and day-use areas since the mid-1990s, the release stated.

Vista Recreation will manage 90 sites across the Forests and Grassland, including 59 campgrounds and 31 day-use sites (trailheads, picnic sites, etc.)

The company has nearly 40 years of experience in public recreation management from campgrounds and day use facilities to marinas and stores.

Concessionaires use a portion of the fees they collect to invest in improving facilities, amenities and operations at the sites they operate. Vista’s proposed actions for their five-year permit aligns with the Forest vision for the future to provide additional services and diversify recreational opportunities, the release stated.

Trailhead shuttles, glamping yurts and paddleboard rentals were listed in the release as changes that could be coming in the next five years.

Vista also will help the Forests and Grassland better manage some of their most popular sites year-round, adding online reservation systems to campgrounds in Grand County, and implementing and updating fee systems at high-use recreation areas such as Crow Valley and Brainard Lake.

The public can expect to see some changes beginning this summer.

Beginning next winter, fee programs will be implemented at several popular day-use areas.

On the Canyon Lakes Ranger District, visiting Dowdy Lake Picnic and Boating Site and West Lake Picnic Site will require a fee. On the Boulder Ranger District, a pilot winter fee program will be introduced at Brainard Lake Recreation Area. Fees could be $10 per vehicle. The fees will ensure parking areas are properly plowed and facilities are maintained.

To make a camping reservation, visit Recreation.gov.

For details, call the Forest Information Line at 970-295-6600 or email VisitARP@usda.gov. If calling, press 0 to speak to a Forest Service representative.

Colorado State Forest Service hires Christina Burri

After a national search, the Colorado State Forest Service hired Christina Burri as the deputy state forester. She started the job May 6.

“Christina’s passion for conserving Colorado’s forests and watersheds is infectious, and her capacity for big ideas and delivering equally big outcomes is exactly what Colorado’s forests need right now,” Colorado State Forester Matt McCombs said in a news release.

She brings 18 years of experience in natural resources to the position.​ Most recently Burri worked as a watershed scientist at Denver Water, where she led the Forests to Faucets program, a partnership with the USDA Forest Service, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the CSFS to invest in proactive forest management to protect the water supply for millions of Coloradans.

Originally from Ohio, Burri’s first job in Colorado was a natural resources specialist with the Bureau of Reclamation. She has served on the Forest Health Council since 2021.

In Brief

• ​From April 15 through April 30, Human Bean Northern Colorado hosted a donation drive at all 10 locations to benefit the Grace Upon Grace Project. Customers were asked to donate full, unopened packs of diapers and period products to help those in need in the area, and the Human Bean delivered 47 packs of diapers, wipes and period products to the Grace Upon Grace Project facility on May 6. To learn more about the Grace Upon Grace Project, visit graceupongraceproject.org.

• Mackenzie Enterprises of Fort Collins won a federal contract award valued at up to $2,000,000 from the General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for participation in a multiple award schedule for surgical appliance and supplies manufacturing.

• Woodward of Fort Collins won a federal contract award for $43,594 from the Department of Defense Defense Logistics Agency, Columbus, Ohio, for micronet CPU.

• RTR Technologies Inc. of Loveland has been assigned a patent (No. US 11971492 B2, initially filed May 20, 2023) developed by David Farrell of Loveland and Thomas Pattison of Kamuela, Hawaii, for “Radio frequency (RF) ranging in propagation limited RF environments utilizing aerial vehicles.”

• Toddy LLC of Loveland has been assigned a design patent (No. US D1024674 S1, initially filed Dec. 3, 2020) developed by four inventors: Clint Kolda of Loveland, Matthew Irish of Wellington, Julia Leach of Denver and Scott Borger of Centennial for “Filter basket for immersion coffee or tea brewing and cupping.”

People

• The Reporter-Herald claimed one award in the annual  Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism contest, announced May 4. Assistant editor Jackie Hutchins took second place for a selection of headlines written for Trivially Speaking columns.

Calendar

• Innovation After Hours: 4-6 p.m. Thursday, May 16,  Innosphere, 320 E. Vine Drive, Fort Collins.  CO-WY Engine and the Future of Climate Resilience will feature a panel discussion featuring prominent CEOs from various life sciences companies. Free; registration required at lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/wbwygky.

• Issues on Tap, Civic Conversations: 4:30-6 p.m. Monday, May 20, Verboten Brewery, 127 E. Fifth St., Loveland. Each month the Loveland Chamber hosts community conversations around current topics in the community. 970-215-5999 or billscu@gmail.com.

• Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours: 5:30-7 p.m. May 23, Northern Colorado Credit Union, 909 Mountain Ave., Berthoud.  Network while learning about other local businesses in the community.   Members free; guests $20. Register at business.berthoudcolorado.com.

Send us your  business news

The Reporter-Herald strives to include newsworthy business briefs for its readers each Sunday. The focus of business briefs is on Northern Colorado businesses, not business promotions.

The items we consider for briefs include:

• New businesses.

• Business relocations.

• Business closings.

• New contracts.

• Anniversaries (divisible by five).

• Mergers and acquisitions.

• New owners, employees or promotions of employees.

• Manufacture of new products.

• Business organization meetings, workshops, seminars or classes meant for networking or education.

• Open houses related to newsworthy events (new business, anniversary, new owners, renovations, new management, etc.).

• Awards or other recognition.

• Donations to charities.

• Earnings.

Press releases are welcome. The Reporter-Herald reserves the right to edit information submitted for publication. Pictures of individuals involved in the event are welcome, but publication is not guaranteed.

Information is due by noon Wednesday for publication in the following Sunday’s business section. Information can be emailed to news@reporter-herald.com. For more information, contact the Reporter-Herald newsroom, 970-635-3636, news@reporter-herald.com.