2014 NAIP Aerial Photography

The statewide 2014 imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) is available from the GIS Hub and from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Geospatial Data Gateway. This 1-meter pixel resolution aerial photography is in MrSID format, organized by county. 

To download the data from the GIS Hub, visit the Hub Data Portal then either browse within the Imagery category or simply type in 2014 in the What? field and click the Search button.  Click on the More Information button then scroll down to the Transfer Options section and click on the "Download USDA-FSA-APFO Aerial Photography 2014 MrSIDs" link. 

Please note that in early 2015 we plan to receive the 2014 imagery in a format that we can use to build a statewide mosaic that will be available as web services.

Dates for this and other imagery can be found on the GIS Hub Dates_Imagery service.  In early 2015 we should have the individual quarter-quad dates also available. 

Updated Datasets on the GIS Hub

A number of datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• State and Federal Roads (updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
• Road Mile Markers (updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: markers) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

Updated Datasets on the GIS Hub

A number of datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• State and Federal Roads (updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
• Watershed Boundary Dataset (updated, includes watersheds, sub-watersheds, regions, sub-regions, basins, and sub-basins; courtesy of Department of Health)
• Road Mile Markers (updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
• City Boundaries (updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: watershed) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

Updated and New Datasets on the GIS Hub

Several datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub and some new ones added by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• 2013 School Districts (New, Courtesy of the Department of Public Instruction)
• 2013 School District Centroids (New, Courtesy of the Department of Public Instruction)  
• Workforce Lodging (Updated, Courtesy of the Department of Health)
• Department of Emergency Services "Base Map Project" Imagery (updated, courtesy of the Department of Emergency Services and the Department of Transportation)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: districts) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

2014 NSGIC Conference Summary

• The NSGIC conferences that I've attended have always been very worthwhile and have provided excellent learning opportunities.  This conference raised the bar even higher.
• One of the things that struck me the most is that there is a shift that is beginning to happen.  This has to do with the vendors in the geospatial community in terms of how they are working together, the services that they are offering, and the innovation is that is happening now by companies who previously were not as "mainstream" as they are now.
• Google came out swinging

• They are now offering hosting services including Windows Servers running ArcGIS Server
• Storage prices are now in the neighborhood of $12K for 50TB/year
• They are offering 6" resolution imagery refreshed 1-3 years
• With their acquisition of Skybox, they have a constellation of 24 satellites that can acquire 15" resolution imagery over the earth every 3 days 
• They are the world's 4 largest hardware company, making their own
• They offer a map gallery and crisis mapping
• The Texas DOT uses Google servers; their travel information map has been load test for 100K hits/second.

• Hosting of imagery and LiDAR by commercial vendors continues to increase.  This saves on storage and software costs.  During times of emergency, the data can be shipped via drives.
• Aggregation of open source and commercial software to create cost-effective solutions for their clients continues where those companies specializing in doing that style of work are positioning themselves very well for the future. This may be creating some friction in existing business models as evidenced by one well-respected company being told by Esri that they could no longer be an Esri business partner.  This company just happens to use Esri AND other company's software.
• Hexagon Geospatial is offering an innovative licensing approach for entire states using the population of the state as a criteria in the pricing model.  Those states already using some of the software now owned by Hexagon (e.g., GeoMedia, ERDAS, Intergraph) may find this to be an attractive solution though I still have concerns on when the ROI would be realized based on training and other transition costs.
• Open data received a lot of stage time.   
• A brilliant presentation was made by the New York GIO who described open data as being:  Machine readable, posted online, downloadable, free, no restrictions on use, provider held harmless, has metadata.   
• This wave of open data has lots of similarities to what North Dakota and other states have been doing for some time, but in this new wave there is more focus on making more data more accessible.  
• New York's governor has issued an open data executive order. 
• Open data buzz terms:  "The new economy is the data", "Open data is the next wave, government is best served by embracing it fully", "people are moving away from selling data to open data to realize greater benefit"
• UAS data collection continues to improve.  Based on discussions with a vendor, they can produce 3cm resolution imagery and 3-5cm vertical accuracy.
• States having new portals include WY and MN. WY's new portal uses Drupal on the front end and includes Open Data for serving up vector data.  Minnesota's GIO did a very nice job of describing how his state is CKAN and their Geospatial Commons will be replacing their multiple existing portals.  CKAN is a powerful open source tool that is also used by data.gov.  I've looked at it before and after this week plan to look at it more.
• Out of the box thinking was demonstrated by a number of the "git-r-done" gentlemen from Arkansas
• Text, in this case text from ancient Middle East documents are parsed, ran through an authoritative database, through a tool that prepares the text for Geographic JSON and then mapped.  This results in mapping of documents. An approach such as this can also be used to map legislation, to show where are funds being spent.
• A budget atlas is used to show how legislators vote and how funds are spent.  For example, Medicaid vendor claims by senate district
• There was a lot of presentations and discussion on addressing and centerlines.  North Dakota has much to learn from the other states including working with local government, standards, and the benefits for all level governments to work together to develop and maintain these datasets. I hear a lot about locals should be submitting their data to the state and the state can make fixes and send it back.  But a South Carolina speaker said, "Let the locals make the fix, not the level above." 
• Esri presented how ArcGIS Online is being used by members of the U.S. Congress to display issues pertinent to their states.  For example, where has the house member been? Where is constituent mail coming from? This can be very beneficial for things such as embedding maps in galleries and in press releases.
• Open source was again present at this year's conference.  A notable quote from the gentleman who was involved with the open source National Broadband Map "Mobile is the new desktop".  He was also the person who displayed this slide:
  
• For those of you looking to install and use Esri's GeoPortal, you may want to also look into Esri's Open Data as that appears to be the focus of much of Esri's current development work relating to data discovery and use.
• LiDAR is always present at NSGIC.  A useful web site noted by the U.S.G.S. is the U.S. elevation inventory tool.
• Another shift that I first noticed at last year's NSGIC but much more pronounced this year is the shrinking of the federal geospatial role in some areas.  For example, Montana has assumed ownership of the Public Land Survey System data.  Utah is just about ready to do the same thing. Much of this stems from errors in the data that are not being addressed by federal agencies.  BLM, who is the steward of the PLSS, does not have/use GIS and thus they do not see the errors a GIS users sees.  As usual, Utah's geospatial folks continue to create some nice tools such as their PLSS viewer.

And now, a few important points:

1. You do not have to be a GIS Coordinator, GIS Manager, GIO, etc. to attend.  You can be from a state, county, city, Tribal organization and no matter your title, you can attend. 
2. Presentations from this NSGIC conference can be found here on the NSGIC web site  

Updated and New Datasets on the GIS Hub

Several datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub and some new ones added by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• City Boundaries (Updated, Courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
• Railroads (Updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation) 
• County Roads (Updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation) 
• NDDOT Landmarks (Updated, courtesy of the Department of Transportation)
• USGS 2011 National Land Cover (New! Courtesy of the Game and Fish Department)
• USDA-NASS 2012 Cropland Data Layer (New! Courtesy of the Game and Fish Department)
• USDA-NASS 2013 Cropland Data Layer (New! Courtesy of the Game and Fish Department)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: landmarks) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

Updated and New Datasets on the GIS Hub

Several datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub and a new one added by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• City Locations (Updated, Courtesy of the Department of Health)
• Assessed Lakes and Reservoirs (Updated, courtesy of the Department of Health) 
• Assessed Rivers and Streams (Updated, courtesy of the Department of Health) 
• Human Service Regions (New! Courtesy of the Department of Health)
• GNIS (Updated, Courtesy of the Department of Health)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: assessed) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium (MAGIC): Symposium Wrap-Up

Another excellent MAGIC Symposium was held last week in Kansas City, Missouri. This was the 14th Symposium with the first having been held in Lawrence, Kansas in 1987. 

I make a habit of telling people that the MAGIC Symposium is one of my favorite conferences because it provides content ranging from coordination/oversight to very technical content.  This Symposium certainly continued the tradition of providing excellent substance.

What follows are just some of the highlights from the Symposium that I experienced. I focused on those sessions that are most applicable to my work; therefore there is a certain slant to what is noted. The MAGIC Symposium is so broad that one report is not enough. But here I go…

The opening keynote was provided by Ben Balter of GitHub. He promotes the concept of collaborative mapping, using the open source model.  In fact, using GitHub, he said we can consider “treating data as code” where data is stored AND presented on GitHub.  In doing so, data is liberated. He showed a number of interesting examples of using GeoJSON to build maps of farmer markets, subway stations, and locations of towers from the FCC database. In another example, he created a “DC WiFi Social” map showing those bars having beer and WiFi. Another person took that info and removed those locations that had TVs (to reduce the noise level). Anyone can make such edits but those are only on their version until the change is committed after review (like code). Ben’s slide deck is available here and includes links to the live GitHub maps.

One of the ways that MAGIC promotes GIS in the mid-continent region is to provide grants to facilitate that work. During the opening session, two of those grant recipients provided an overview on what they’ve done with their grants.  MAGIC also recognizes work well done; the State of Oklahoma, the City of Ames, Iowa, and Jackson County, Missouri were recipients of these prestigious awards.

I attended the "ArcGIS as a Platform" workshop that went well beyond a description of how all of the ArcGIS pieces fit together.  For me it turned out to be a solid tips and tricks session focusing on optimization of hardware, software, licensing, and architecture. With what I learned here, this one workshop literally paid for my entire expense of attending the Symposium and then some.  A few of the key items of interest:

• Stop using the personal geodatabase if you haven’t already  
• Frequently update statistics on the enterprise geodatabase
• For disaster recovery, considering sending tiles to ArcGIS Online via a tile package
• EDN can be used to create the tile cache
• Set up a staging environment that mimics production; use this to upgrade and test new versions, then edit the load balancer to point to the new environment
• Check out this document for links to performance and scalability
• When starting out with ArcGIS Online establish vision and governance
• Data must be available via mobile devices; more mobile devices access the Internet than PCs

I attended a session titled, “Working with Imagery and LiDAR in ArcGIS” that provided some excellent tips and tricks.  This session really did a nice job showing how one can use the tools right in ArcMap to dynamically create data without first having to create derived products stored on disk.  And, I learned a tip that might help you. Have you ever tried to open a folder containing imagery in ArcMap only to have to wait forever for the folder to open?  In ArcMap Options, click on the Raster tab and then click on the File Formats button, and uncheck all those formats that you do not use. 

ArcGIS Online was everywhere at the Symposium.  There is no doubt in my mind that ArcGIS Online is already becoming a major component of the Esri software stack and that this will only increase.  If you are a user of Esri software and are not yet using or at least familiar with ArcGIS Online, you really should be. 

• I attended a session titled, “Best Practices for Working with ArcGIS Online” that presented many of the basics but also provided many tips and tricks.  A good resource is the blog on resources.arcgis.com.  One of those blog items that was highlighted during the session was this one.
• Oregon is deploying ArcGIS Online as an enterprise tool where state agency users are billed on a per-user basis, but for counties, in return for their data, the county users have access to ArcGIS Online at no cost.  Currently, Oregon has about 300 users and expects this to grow to 1000 users by the end of the year.
• In the City of Omaha, they have found that over 80% of their field collection is now done with a phone or tablet using ArcGIS Online.  The remaining collection is done with higher precision, traditional devices. The biggest growth of their ArcGIS Online presence has been from non-GIS people, with maps including Omaha landmarks, crime map, county commissioner districts, community centers, specialty parks (such as dog parks, skateboard parks), and land re-utilization maps (showing lots the city wants to sell)
• Jackson County, Missouri is using ArcGIS Online for mapping of culverts, signs, and guardrails.  They are using iPads for this work.
• There are several good examples at http://tryitlive.arcgis.com/
• There is a growing list of products that work with ArcGIS Online are currently available and/or will be soon.  These include:

• Collector for ArcGIS
• Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS
• Explorer for ArcGIS (new!)
• ArcGIS Open Data (new and beta!)

 
And finally (for me), MAGIC had “Short Attention Span Theaters” which provided an opportunity to hear a lot of info very quickly.  Two of my favorites were:

• The Oklahoma Office of Geographic Information support following the 2013 Moore, OK tornado. They actually burned up a belt on the plotter.
• There are 9,365 languages in the world with 440 of those extinct. The researchers created a global model to predict areas at risk for extinction of language.

If you haven't had a chance to be a part of MAGIC, please consider doing so, there are lots of opportunities, just visit the web site or contact me.  And be sure to put April 24 - 28, 2016 on your calendar, that the date of the next MAGIC symposium which will be held at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, KS.
 

Updated Datasets on the GIS Hub

A number of datasets have been updated on the GIS Hub by the North Dakota GIS Technical Committee data stewards.  These are:

• Basemap_Imagery (Williams County updated, courtesy of Williams Co.)
• Watershed Boundary Dataset (updated, includes watersheds, sub-watersheds, regions, sub-regions, basins, and sub-basins; data courtesy of Department of Health)
• Department of Emergency Services "Base Map Project" Imagery (updated, courtesy of the Department of Emergency Services and the Department of Transportation)

These datasets can be downloaded and/or delivered via data services.  More information on these datasets can be found on the Hub Data Portal. You can search for these datasets (e.g., type in: watershed) or you may find it convenient to simply browse to the data within the Categories section of the Hub Data Portal. After you've located the data of interest, click on the More Information button and then scroll down to the Transfer Options section. In that section, click the Download link to download the data or click one of the other links such as the 'Esri REST including WMS' link to obtain the data service information.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium (MAGIC) Symposium - Announcement Summaries!

Over the past several months you may have been receiving information and reminders on the upcoming MidAmerica GIS Consortium (MAGIC) Symposium. Perhaps you are interested in attending and have been looking through your email for an important date. Sure, you can (and should) visit the MAGIC Symposium web site to get the details, but if you'd like to view one of the past reminders, here they are!

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014 - Kansas City, MO
Early-bird Registration Ending Soon and Networking Bonanza!
Tic Toc, watch the clock! You now have two more days to register for the MAGIC Symposium using early bird fee and to make your room reservation at block rate! Even though we brag about MAGIC as the best educational value on the geospatial continuum of resources and workshops and training, we want you to know it is also the best place to network with peers AND have some fun! Monday Night Social (Apr 28): Remember to bring your athletic shoes! You've never experienced College Basketball like this! Join us Monday night for a fantastic party with 300+ of your closest GIS friends at the NCAA College Basketball Experience. It's buzzer beating shots, it's 3-point madness, and clutch free-throw shooting, and a beautiful museum all under one roof. Did I mention Mac & Cheese bar? Show off your skills, cheer (or jeer) on your colleagues! Who will take home the title? Exhibitor Hall Tuesday Night (Apr 29): And they're off! Tuesday night we're bringing the races inside to you! Bet it all on your favorite horse for a chance to win spectacular prizes provided by our fantastic vendors and event sponsors. And the only thing that can top a Mac & Cheese bar, is a mashed potato bar! Free Night! Wednesday, April 30, was intentionally left open so you can see the sites of Kansas City – enjoy some famous KC BBQ, take a group to dinner on the Plaza, enjoy the sites at the Power & Light District, visit the National WWI Museum (the WWI memorial) or Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. There are so many things to do in Kansas City - be sure to visit the Visit Kansas City website for more ideas! We are less than three weeks away from MAGIC 2014. We are looking forward to seeing all of you there! Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember April 9: Early-Bird Registration Ends April 9: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014 – Kansas City, Missouri @ Westin Crown Center
MAGIC Early Bird Registration Deadline Extended to April 9th!  Don’t forget to sign up for short courses too!
The Symposium Committee decided to extend the early bird registration deadline to coincide with the Westin hotel room block extension. You now have until April 9th to take advantage of the $325 registration fee and the $125 hotel room block!  Also, don’t forget to sign up for short courses to complete your MAGIC experience.  You can chart your course using the new Guidebook mobile app! The MAGIC short courses are one of the best bang for your bucks at the MAGIC Symposium. The courses provide instruction you can use immediately to start up geospatial projects and improve your use of GIS on the job. Short courses are offered as an addition to conference registration: Full-Day With full registration: $150 Full-Day without full registration: $250 ½-Day with full registration: $75 ½-Day without full registration: $125 Labs are hands-on instructional courses with exercises and examples you will use in class. You can bring your own laptop to the course if you desire. Your laptop must be loaded with the latest version and service pack of the software you will be using. The instructor will contact you with what to install on your computer. Classes are instruction only environments. Disclaimer - Short courses are subject to cancellation due to low attendance Please see the MAGIC web site HERE for full descriptions of each course. Dates, Times, and Course names are listed below: Sunday, April 27 (Full Day) 8:00am - 5:00pm 101. Introductory Geoprocessing with Python/Introduction to Python for ArcGIS (Lab) - Brett Lord-Castillo, St. Louis County, MO & Mark Hollingshead, Esri Sunday, April 27 (Half-Day) 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. 102. Getting to Know ArcMap...Just the Basics (Lab) - Heather Schafer, Boone County, MO 103. Best Practices for Implementing ArcGIS Online (Lab) - Dan Haag, Esri 104. Remote Sensing A to Z (Class) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 105. LiDAR Track (Class) - Abdullah Qassim, Woolpert Monday, April 28 (Half-Day) 8:00am - 12:00 noon 201. Introduction to Working with Point Clouds (Lab) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 202. Intermediate Geoprocessing with Python - (Lab) 203. Introductory GPS and Mobile GIS (Class) - Jason Warzinik, Boone County, MO 204. Introductory Geodatabases (Lab) - Steve Marsh, MARC 205. GIS and Mapping A to Z (Lab) - Tim Haithcoat, University of Missouri 206. ArcGIS Platform Best Practices (Class) - Dan Haag, Esri 207. Utility and Public Works Using GPS and Mobile GIS Workflows (Lab) - Jeff Tomlinson, Intergraph Monday, April 28 (Half-Day) 1:00pm - 5:00pm 301. Advanced Point Cloud Processing and Analysis (Lab) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 302. Advanced Geoprocessing with Python (Lab) 303. Census 2010 and American Community Survey (Class) - Craig Best, US Census & Sunny Farmahan 304. Advanced Geodatabases (Lab) - Steve Marsh, MARC 305. Introductory ModelBuilder (Lab) - Ken Wilkerson, GISEdge 306. Spatial Statistics (Lab) - Tim Haithcoat, University of Missouri 307. Transportation GIS (Class) - Ben Smith, BNSF & Jeff Tomlinson, Intergraph 308. Open Source GIS (Lab) - Xiao Huaguo, Clay County, MO Thursday, May 1 (Half-Day) 12:00 - 4:00pm 401. HAZUS Flood and Earthquake Tools (Class) - Shanna Michael, AECOM & Mike Eddings 402. JavaScript Web Mapping API (Lab) - Eric Herbert, Sarpy County, NE 403. Cloud GIS (Lab) - Mike Schonlau, Douglas County, NE 404. US National Grid (Class) - Brett Lord-Castillo, St. Louis County, MO 405. Cartography (Lab) - Shannon White, University of Missouri Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember April 9: Registration Deadline April 9: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Keynotes Announced and Deadlines for MAGIC 2014 are Around the Corner!
It's countdown time to the 2014 Mid-America GIS Symposium in Kansas City! Deadlines are looming for hotel room rates and early bird registration. Get your room! Deadline: 3/26/2014 The rate for a single/double room is $125 per night @ The Westin Crown Center. The room reservation deadline is March 26, 2014. Please reference MidAmerica GIS Symposium to obtain this special rate. Avoid conference late fees! Deadline: 3/28/2014 early bird registration closes March 28, 2014, so make sure you get your registration in before then to avoid a $50 late fee! Short courses are filling up too, so get pick your topics and sign on up! Keynotes Announced! You won’t want to miss our keynotes! Federal Communications Commission, Geographic Information Officer Michael Byrne will open. Byrne will share how FCC is using GIS and collecting data to analyze broadband in rural America. Have you heard about GitHub? It has over 4 million users who are passionate about sharing code, and gov2.0 evangelist Ben Balter is coming to teach MAGIC about how GIS folks can use GitHub to transform their work. Read more about keynotes here and register today before room block and registration deadlines this week! View Keynote Bios Here MAGIC Mobile App New to MAGIC this year is a tool, the Guidebook mobile app, that will help you build your schedule! To download the app, simply go to guidebook.com/g/kwdeci93 or search for "Guidebook" in your app store. Then you can search for "magicgis2014" within the Guidebook. View the Schedule Don't forget you can always view the Preliminary Program Schedule on the MAGIC website. Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember March 26: Room Reservation Deadline March 28: Early-Bird Registration Ends April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Deadlines for MAGIC 2014 are Around the Corner!
It's countdown time to the 2014 Mid-America GIS Symposium in Kansas City! Deadlines are looming for hotel room rates and early bird registration. Get your room! Deadline: 3/26/2014 The rate for a single/double room is $125 per night @ The Westin Crown Center. The room reservation deadline is March 26, 2014. Please reference MidAmerica GIS Symposium to obtain this special rate. Avoid conference late fees! Deadline: 3/28/2014 Early bird registration closes March 28, 2014, so make sure you get your registration in before then to avoid a $50 late fee! Short courses are filling up too, so get pick your topics and sign on up! MAGIC Mobile App New to MAGIC this year is a tool, the Guidebook mobile app, that will help you build your schedule! To download the app, simply go to guidebook.com/g/kwdeci93 or search for "Guidebook" in your app store. Then you can search for "magicgis2014" within the Guidebook. View the Schedule Don't forget you can always view the Preliminary Program Schedule on the MAGIC website. Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline March 28: Early-Bird Registration Ends April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

  

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Preliminary Program AND New Mobile App!
We are excited to share the Mid-America 2014 Symposium preliminary program with you today! As is our tradition, the 2014 slate is chocked full of topics to appeal to everyone interested in geospatial technologies, from those eager to get started to the most expert among you. Technical topics range from web/cloud services, mobile GIS, Imagery/LiDAR/Data in a rich array of concurrent sessions. This year, we are featuring the "Short Attention Span Theater" for those of you who prefer an abbreviated message. As always, we have storytelling and sharing of best practices as well as moderated panels on a variety of topics. Developing a conference program that meets everyone's needs is a challenging task. Even more challenging is an attendee trying to figure out exactly which sessions or topics will be most interesting and helpful. MAGIC 2014 is intended to focus the content of the presentation options into a program specifically geared to each attendee's needs. New to MAGIC this year is a tool, the Guidebook mobile app, that will help you build your schedule! To download the app, simply go to guidebook.com/g/kwdeci93 or search for "Guidebook" in your app store. Then you can search for "magicgis2014" within the Guidebook. Don't forget you can always view the Preliminary Program Schedule on the MAGIC website. Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember February 14: Early-Bird Exhibitor Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline March 28: Early-Bird Registration Ends April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Exhibitors a Big Part of the MAGIC Experience! Look Who's Coming!
Since its early days in the late 1980's, the MidAmerica Symposium has become the premier GIS conference event in the Midwest. There is no better place to showcase your geospatial wares and interact with a broad spectrum of geospatial players across all sectors, from local and state governments to entrepreneurial businesses and unique, collaborative partnerships. There are several sponsorship options to pick from, priced for every sized company and sponsor, offering a variety of marketing venues and opportunities to interact with participants. See your options on our web site here. Thanks to all who have signed up already! See a full list of MAGIC Sponsors here! Please consider becoming a part of this esteemed exhibitor showcase! The deadline for exhibitors is February 14. Register online here. Please join us and add to the MAGIC Experience! Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember February 14: Early-Bird Exhibitor Registration Ends March 14: Early-Bird Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Register Now to Reserve Your Place in MAGIC Short Courses!
The MAGIC short courses are one of the best bang for your bucks at the MAGIC Symposium. The courses provide instruction you can use immediately to start up geospatial projects and improve your use of GIS on the job. Short courses are offered as an addition to conference registration: Full-Day With full registration: $150 Full-Day without full registration: $250 ½-Day with full registration: $75 ½-Day without full registration: $125 Labs are hands-on instructional courses with exercises and examples you will use in class. You can bring your own laptop to the course if you desire. Your laptop must be loaded with the latest version and service pack of the software you will be using. The instructor will contact you with what to install on your computer. Classes are instruction only environments. Disclaimer - Short courses are subject to cancellation due to low attendance Please see the MAGIC web site HERE for full descriptions of each course. Dates, Times, and Course names are listed below: Sunday, April 27 (Full Day) 8:00am - 5:00pm 101. Introductory Geoprocessing with Python/Introduction to Python for ArcGIS (Lab) - Brett Lord-Castillo, St. Louis County, MO & Mark Hollingshead, Esri Sunday, April 27 (Half-Day) 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. 102. Getting to Know ArcMap...Just the Basics (Lab) - Heather Schafer, Boone County, MO 103. Best Practices for Implementing ArcGIS Online (Lab) - Dan Haag, Esri 104. Remote Sensing A to Z (Class) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 105. LiDAR Track (Class) - Abdullah Qassim, Woolpert Monday, April 28 (Half-Day) 8:00am - 12:00 noon 201. Introduction to Working with Point Clouds (Lab) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 202. Intermediate Geoprocessing with Python - (Lab) 203. Introductory GPS and Mobile GIS (Class) - Jason Warzinik, Boone County, MO 204. Introductory Geodatabases (Lab) - Steve Marsh, MARC 205. GIS and Mapping A to Z (Lab) - Tim Haithcoat, University of Missouri 206. ArcGIS Platform Best Practices (Class) - Dan Haag, Esri 207. Utility and Public Works Using GPS and Mobile GIS Workflows (Lab) - Jeff Tomlinson, Intergraph Monday, April 28 (Half-Day) 1:00pm - 5:00pm 301. Advanced Point Cloud Processing and Analysis (Lab) - Frank Obusek, Intergraph 302. Advanced Geoprocessing with Python (Lab) 303. Census 2010 and American Community Survey (Class) - Craig Best, US Census & Sunny Farmahan 304. Advanced Geodatabases (Lab) - Steve Marsh, MARC 305. Introductory ModelBuilder (Lab) - Ken Wilkerson, GISEdge 306. Spatial Statistics (Lab) - Tim Haithcoat, University of Missouri 307. Transportation GIS (Class) - Ben Smith, BNSF & Jeff Tomlinson, Intergraph 308. Open Source GIS (Lab) - Xiao Huaguo, Clay County, MO Thursday, May 1 (Half-Day) 12:00 - 4:00pm 401. HAZUS Flood and Earthquake Tools (Class) - Shanna Michael, AECOM & Mike Eddings 402. JavaScript Web Mapping API (Lab) - Eric Herbert, Sarpy County, NE 403. Cloud GIS (Lab) - Mike Schonlau, Douglas County, NE 404. US National Grid (Class) - Brett Lord-Castillo, St. Louis County, MO 405. Cartography (Lab) - Shannon White, University of Missouri Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember March 14: Early-Bird Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Submit Your Work for the Project Showcase!
A GIS PROJECT SHOWCASE will be set up as part of this year’s MAGIC GIS Symposium, providing the opportunity for cartographers in the MAGIC region to showcase their work. We will continue the digital theme from the last Symposium in 2012, so we are asking that all maps be prepared and submitted digitally. We will be displaying the maps in a digital format either on large monitors (40") or projected images. Participants wishing to submit an entry for review will submit the work in digital format, preferably as JPG images together with a submission form and email them to Jim Langtry. Due to size restrictions email attachments should be less than 25 MB in size. Contact Jim for larger file sizes. Maps should showcase cartographic best practices. The challenge will be to prepare a digital map that will be visually stimulating and informative while maintaining a workable file size. These maps are not intended to be functional GIS applications. They are intended for viewing, not for extensive manipulation. Maps larger than 25 MB in file size can be submitted on disk or by prior arrangement using ftp. Arrangements for delivery can be made by contacting Jim Langtry. Participants may submit up to three (3) exhibits. Keep in mind, because these maps will be viewed digitally, that a horizontal (landscape) orientation maybe preferable to a vertical (portrait) orientation. The displays will be in place for viewing throughout the conference. The designated Project Showcase time will be from 5:30pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. Presenters must be available for a 15-20 minute period during the showcase to answer questions and discuss their work. (Times will be scheduled). Projects entered online at before March 21st, 2014 will qualify for an attendee project showcase award. Sign up early to ensure a description of your work is included in the program. Submissions are open computer based exhibits and are intended to remain on display during the symposium. Participation is limited to public sector (non-commercial) GIS users. Submittal Deadline is March 21st, 2014. Here is a great opportunity to show off and be recognized for your good work. We look forward to reviewing your entries. Please email Jim Langtry or call (402) 328-4128 if you have any questions. Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember February 1: Early-Bird Exhibitor Registration Ends March 14: Early-Bird Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Book Your Travel, Register NOW, and sign up for MAGIC social media!
MAGIC 2014 will be held April 27 - May 1 in Kansas City, MO. As the premier conference in the region, MAGIC promotes the advancement of GIS and geospatial technologies by focusing on today's key issues and challenges. MAGIC 2014 is intended to focus the content of the presentation options into a program specifically geared to each attendee's needs. Read more about the Program. Hotel Information Westin Crown Center 1 Pershing Road Kansas City, MO 64108 T: 816.474.4400 F: 816.391 4438 Westin Kansas City Website The rate for a single/double room is $125 per night. The room reservation deadline is March 26, 2014. Please reference "MidAmerica GIS Symposium" to obtain this special rate. 2014 Conference Fees Full Conference: $325 Student Registration: $150 Full-Day Shortcourses w/ full registration: $150 Full-day Shortcourses w/o full registration: $250 ½-Day Shortcourses w/ full registration: $75 ½-Day Shortcourses w/o full registration: $125 After March 14, 2014, there will be a $50 late fee on all registrations. NO refunds will be issued after March 1, 2014. Social Media Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn NEW PARKING OPTIONS!!! We will have a new option for parking during the Symposium this year to try and assist with the high cost of parking. Union Station directly across from the Westin Crown Center has a parking garage available. The fee is a maximum of $10.00 per day for self-parking. Also, MAGIC will be selling a limited number of discounted parking vouchers for the Union Station parking garage for only $3.00 each at the registration desk. An attendee would need a voucher each time the garage was exited. We are unable to guarantee parking and there are no refunds for unused parking vouchers. But we are pleased to be able to offer this option on a first-come, first-served basis. As in years past, attendees can park at the Westin Crown Center parking garage directly under the hotel. The parking fee is $16.00 per day for self-parking and $21.00 per day for valet parking. Platinum Sponsor Highlight: Seiler Instrument: The Seiler Mapping Department provides the right tools and technology for those wishing to populate their GIS and CAD field data and get their work accomplished efficiently, productively and within budget. Seiler works with products from the most well-established manufacturers and software developers in the field such as Trimble, Esri, CartoPac Field Solutions, and Laser Technology. The Seiler mapping team of professionals are industry experts and want to work with you and your organization to provide the best integrated solutions available for your productivity success. Seiler Mapping is your complete Field-to-GIS solution. Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember February 1: Early-Bird Exhibitor Registration Ends March 14: Early-Bird Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.

  

 

MidAmerica GIS Consortium MAGIC 2014: April 27 - May 1, 2014
Acknowledging our Most Loyal Sponsors
With the 2014 Symposium just around the corner, MAGIC is taking time to reflect on and recognize those geospatial companies who’ve supported the MAGIC Symposium throughout our 20+ years. The recognition will begin at the opening plenary session and will involve more than just a tip of the MAGIC hat. Those companies who’ve supported MAGIC for 10 or more years (5 or more Symposiums including this one) will be recognized as MAGIC "Veterans". For those whose support extends for 16 or more years (8 or more symposiums)  will rate MAGIC "Champions" and will receive such recognition! We will recognize our supporters in other ways throughout the Symposium. MAGIC offers our sincere thanks to all that have supported us throughout the years. Exhibitors, if you have not yet registered, please do so by February 1, 2014 to avoid the $200 late fee! Exhibitor information can be found at the MAGIC website. If you have any questions as to whether your company qualifies for this ongoing award - please contact Mark Duewell or Tony Spicci. Registration is now open & don't forget to book your travel to MAGIC 2014! A Special Thanks To: Seiler Instrument (Platinum Sponsor). Visit Seiler Instrument	Dates to Remember February 1: Early-Bird Exhibitor Registration Ends March 14: Early-Bird Registration Ends March 21: Project Showcase Deadline March 26: Room Reservation Deadline April 27 - May 1: MAGIC 2014!   Contact Us MAGIC Website - www.magicgis.org 2014 Symposium Chair Consortium Chair Web Administrator
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us! Tony Spicci, 2014 Symposium Chair David Drum, Short Course Chair Bill Sneed, Awards Chair Stacey Priest, Social Chair Jim Langtry, Project Showcase Chair Susan Norton, Publicity Chair Amber Reynolds, Program Chair Melissa Crane, Exhibitor Chair
© 2014 MidAmerica GIS Consortium, Ltd. - all rights reserved.