[Vision2020] BRAVO, Tom!

[Janesta]

SIDEWALK SERIES: His focus is on the community Moscow man's Web site
dedicated to happenings around town

By Tara Roberts, Daily News staff writer

Posted on: Tuesday, June 17, 2008


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Tom Hansen first fell in love with Idaho many years ago.

He and his wife, Rodna, drove through the Silver Valley on a cross-country
trip in the late 1980s. He knew he'd found something special when he looked
out and saw the mountains and pine trees.

"The first thing I said was I was gonna die of old age in Idaho," said
Hansen, 57.

He moved to Moscow to study information systems at the University of Idaho
in 1992, and has lived here ever since.

He decided to celebrate his love of the town and its people by founding a
Web site dedicated to happenings around Moscow. The site,
www.moscowcares.com, was launched a year ago.

Moscow Cares mainly features information about local government and arts and
culture events. Hansen posts videos about Moscow City Council discussions
each week.

"What primarily I'm interested in there is getting local citizens involved
in local government, especially local politics," Hansen said.

As an avid photographer, Hansen also enjoys taking pictures and videos of
local bands and artists for Moscow Cares.

He is a fixture at the Moscow Farmers Market, where he snaps photos of
marketgoers and tapes the weekly musical performance. His site also features
events like Renaissance Fair, Rendezvous in the Park and the city's Fourth
of July celebration.

Hansen had his camera ready when several feet of snow dumped on Moscow this
winter, closing local schools, businesses and the University of Idaho.

"If any special activities happen, I try to be there," he said.

Hansen said he'll include anything on his site "that just kind of emphasizes
Moscow."

He grew up in Los Angeles, where "you've got 7 million people with 10
million attitudes," he said. Conversely, people in Moscow have different
opinions but share a laid-back and friendly attitude.

"If you can put it on the Web where people from out of the area can see it,
it's easier to explain," he said.

Hansen said the response to Moscow Cares has been overwhelmingly positive.
He is working on making the site reflect Moscow's past, present and future.

He has gathered many old photographs of the area and UI, mostly bought on
eBay, and posted them. He also collects old UI and Moscow High School
yearbooks, and is trying to create electronic copies of as many MHS
yearbooks as he can.

His oldest yearbook dates back to 1907. Some of his favorites include one
when Larry Craig was UI student body president, and a 1928 yearbook that has
advertisements for Creighton's department store, which only recently went
out of business.

Hansen said he'll soon add a section to Moscow Cares where people can share
their ideas for the future of Moscow.

He also plans to continue adding footage of as many local bands and
performances as he can. The self-proclaimed "music nut" said he loves pretty
much any band and type of music, but favors classic R&B and rock.

"I'm 57, but I still rock," he said.
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