When you walk into realtor Sarah Jenkins' office on Second Street in River Falls, it does feel like home. Her renovated office looks like a brand-new home from the outside, but on the inside, that's where you'll find the heart. 

Sarah Jenkins loves her town and it shows in her weekly podcast, “Beyond the Falls.”

"Our community has so much to offer and there's always something new," said Jenkins. "We have so much uniqueness about River Falls and I'm guessing nobody else knows about most of this stuff either."

Jenkins has been a realtor for the past eight years, the last four with Property Executives Realty, but the Eden Prairie, Minn., native originally studied early childhood education and was a Gopher cheerleader at the University of Minnesota. Jenkins also received her master's degree in early childhood education.

"I thought I was going to start a pre-school in River Falls," said Jenkins after she and her husband, Dan Jenkins, met at the U of M and were married and moved back to Dan's hometown of River Falls. 

Dan was building homes, but the housing market crash threw the Jenkins a curveball.

"We got into securing and cleaning market foreclosures and protecting them for the banks, so that kind of pushed the pre-school idea out of the way," said Sarah. "We covered the Twin Cities all the way to Milwaukee. It was crazy. You never knew what you were going to walk into every day."

Jenkins said as the business grew, they started buying rental properties and it made sense for her to acquire her realtor's license.

"Anyone can have a podcast and I had seen other agents around the country doing them," said Jenkins. "Dan (her husband) was like, 'You should do that.’"

Enter Chris Larsen.

Many River Falls High School hockey fans may know Larsen from streaming Wildcat boys' hockey games on the River Falls YouTube Sports channel. Larsen's day job is also media related, as he owns and runs Foremost Outdoor Television.

"He made it really easy for me," said Jenkins. "So it was just getting myself out of my comfort zone to start it."

Jenkins and Larsen schedule three or four shows one day per month to shoot. One podcast per week is aired on the “Beyond the Falls” podcast YouTube channel.

"Since it's just one day per month, it's definitely manageable even during the busier summer months," said Jenkins.    

Jenkins' podcast has just reached her one-year anniversary. She's interviewed everyone from community leaders, to coaches, to business owners. All telling their stories through their River Falls' lens.

"Like the one with 'Sleep in Heavenly Peace,’" said Jenkins. "They make beds for children who don't have beds in Pierce and St. Croix counties and who knew Kevin Westhuis (River Falls Municipal Utilities Director) used to be a realtor years ago. I get a coaching tip from Kevin every Monday on email now."

Lori's Day Spa owner Lori Moran was on a “Beyond the Falls” podcast and started talking about infrared saunas.

"I had no idea what that is, so I just asked her to tell me about it," said Jenkins. "I'm genuinely curious about people and interested in what they do, but I have gotten better with my interviewing skills. I wasn't afraid to be on camera, but I had never done that before. I had a blast talking with Lisa Ziebarth and Lori Larson from the Power of 100 Women."

The day Jenkins was being interviewed by the Pierce County Journal, she was just about to record a podcast with River Falls High School Head Football Coach Ryan Scherz. The two were talking about Scherz being an attorney for 10 years before he found his true passion teaching and coaching.

"You learn something new every day, right?" said Jenkins. "I have two out-of-state real estate clients that wanted to learn more about River Falls and I told them to watch the podcast."

Jenkins treats her podcaster role just like she does her Property Executives Realty and Jenkins Property Management businesses, with attention to detail and empathy for the person sitting in the chair next to her.

"If a property sale takes two weeks, wow," said Jenkins. "If it takes two years, then it takes two years. I want the person I'm interviewing to be comfortable in that chair just like I want my clients to be comfortable with their home."

As the saying goes in real estate, home is where the heart is. Sarah Jenkins has found her home behind the microphone uncovering new nuggets about River Falls on the “Beyond the Falls” podcast.