Cedar Rapids man captures neighborhood events through his video camera

Robin Kash didn't start out thinking he'd be a source for neighborhood and city news in Cedar Rapids. He just wanted to get to know his new community better.

But after just a few weeks of bringing his video camera to neighborhood events and city council meetings and then posting the videos online, Kash, 69, has created his own network of news that affects his neighborhood and the city around it.

Kash, a retired Presbyterian minister, is now president and owner of Grande Avenue Productions, a company whose main office is in a room at Kash's house on Grande Avenue in Cedar Rapids.

“I'd been interested in video for several years,” said Kash, adding that he'd integrated videos into much of his work in the various churches he'd served by filming youth events, lectures and other church happenings.

Kash said he started early last year by videotaping neighborhood association meetings, first his own and then branching off and attending other neighborhoods. If there was a neighborhood event, he was there to cover it.

Then the Cedar River flooded and many of his neighbors and their families found themselves needing housing assistance, financial relief or other things.

“It seems to me a number of neighborhood members started to show interest in the videos because they couldn't go to the city council meetings for one reason or another,” Kash said.

Soon he went from getting acquainted with his surroundings to becoming a necessary member of the neighborhood. Kash started attending city council meetings regularly, both the regular meetings and any committee or “brown bag” meetings that were held, and posted the videos online. He created the Neighborhood Network News as a calling card, and his videos appear online at www.neighborhoodnetworknews.com

“There's interest in knowing how the council decides things, how they proceed with things,” Kash said. “After the flood I started showing up pretty regularly until I've gotten now to where I'm part of the furniture, so to speak.”

The endeavor has taught Kash a bit about government and media, as well.

“To a certain level I will never know what I didn't know,” he said, “but I am starting to understand.”