MUSCATINE, Iowa–No matter the decade, the Mayor of Muscatine has always taken an interest in connecting with the city’s residents. When Chad Bishop first started his career at Muscatine Community College, he remembers the then mayor hosting a call-in radio show. To keep up with the times, the show first incorporated a video component, before later iterations moved completely to Muscatine Power and Water cable and the internet. As Brad Bark starts his first term as mayor, Bishop thought the time had come to put a new spin on connecting city government with the public. With the help of Bark and many others throughout the city, the new “Muscatine In Focus” show came to life.
“Muscatine In Focus” will air most Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., prior to city council meetings. Co-produced by Bishop and Bark and directed by Bark, the show presents a variety of civic news and upcoming events summarized so that viewers can easily understand them.
Each show will start with an introduction by Bark followed by several segments on different topics. Each week’s show will feature Council Corner, where different members of the city council will speak on topics of their choice. Once a month, City Administrator Carol Webb will share the highlights from her report on the city, which details the current work and achievements of each department. Bark will also close out each week’s show with a final message.
Other segments will include interviews with businesses and community groups, sharing their work and any upcoming events they have planned, as well as information on some of the week’s top news. As the show gets more established, Bishop sees these segments as an opportunity for interested groups to create their own video content and share it with the public.
“Muscatine In Focus” will air in several places, including on Muscatine Power and Water cable channel nine, on the Muscatine Access Chanel Nine YouTube channel, and on the City of Muscatine’s Facebook page. “This should be a way that’s accessible to all,” stressed Bishop.
After airing for the first time Feb. 3, Bishop looks forward to engaging with the community to make it even more beneficial to them. “This is fluid–we’re going to go with the flow of what works,” he said. He encourages people to make respectful comments on the show’s social media posts so that Bark and the other council members can engage with them in productive discussions.
Bark believes the show has the potential to help people stay up to date more easily with the work of the city council, the city’s various departments, and other noteworthy events going on in the city. “I’m really excited for the opportunity for people to learn more about all the facets of the City of Muscatine,” he stated.
Bark and Bishop welcome viewers to email them or City of Muscatine Communications Director Kevin Jenison with ideas or suggestions for future features so that the show can remain focused on topics the community really cares about and gives numerous businesses and organizations the chance to share their work with the world. “This is a vehicle to involve others,” Bishop emphasized. “I’d like everybody to be on the show and be on TV.”
