Category Archives: Announcement

A Calendar Full of Exciting, Engaging April Events

By AmericaView, Announcement, Earth Day, Education, Event, Landsat, Outreach, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Earth Month! This month is full of lots of exciting and engaging events for you to participate in. Here are some coming up soon:

What: VIRTUAL EVENT: ASPRS GeoBytes Webinar: A History of the Landsat Program presented by Ellie Leydsman McGinty This is going to be a fantastic opportunity to learn about some of the stories behind how the Landsat program became what it is today and some of the people that made it happen. 
When: 4/8/22 @ 12pm-1pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://my.asprs.org/ASPRSMember/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=GB20220408&WebsiteKey=9126ee3f-e9e1-43bd-a00c-0cfa63182579

What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Virginia Tech Office of GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium
We have an exceptional panel of speakers on hand this year representing Duke University, NASA (Emerita), and Virginia Tech.  Another highlight of the Symposium, is the student poster session  & web map app showcase with over 35 undergraduate and graduate student posters on full display! 
When: 4/8/22 @ 12pm-3:30pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://virginiatech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n0l1pRCTTSWgDeP7Jwx47Q

What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Iowa Technology and Education Connection (ITEC) Conference
ITEC is hosting the annual conference on April 13-14. Join fellow Iowa educators at the state’s premier Tech Ed event! IowaView staff will be presenting on April 14 at 1:15 -2:05pm – Spreading the Mapping Bug: Sharing Geospatial Resources, Ready-to-Go Curriculum, and Mapping Activities for Teachers to Use Tomorrow and Integrate into Their Lessons. Great for student engagement. Many of these materials align with core standards and resources include interactive maps and apps available immediately.
When: 4/14/22 @ 1:15-2:05pm
Registration: https://www.itec-ia.org/conference-registration-details/

What: VIRTUAL EVENT GeoTech Center – Earth Observation Day

When: 4/20/22 @ 11am-4:45pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/02d5fc3ded704f958fb1aa96d9e125bf

For even more events check out the IowaView Jobs and Other Opportunities Page.

It’s time to Spread the word about the Iowa Map Contest!

By Activity, Announcement, Education, Event, Iowa Student Map Contest, Outreach, Story Map, , , , , , , , , , ,

The Iowa Map Contest is open. This year we would like to give out all our prize money. If you know students in grade 4-12 or teachers encourage them to participate. For contest details, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/iowamapcontest/.

Here’s a link to the poster pdf: https://www.iowaView.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Iowa_map-contest-poster_smaller-compressed-1.pdf.

Presenting Iowa’s first Landsat 9 Image!

By AmericaView, Announcement, Imagery, Landsat, USGS, , ,
  • This Image was captured with Landsat 9 on December 12, 2021. Notice the snow dusting in the north part of the image.

Yesterday the United State Geological Survey (USGS) released the first 38,000 scenes collected from the recently launch Landsat 9 (September 2021). After much calibration and quality assurance here are some of the first clear images of Iowa. For more images visit USGS Earth Explorer: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.

  • Des Moines Area of Central Iowa
  • Closer Zoom of Des Moines, Iowa
Ames, Iowa

New Data Products from the ISU GIS Facility: 24K Topo Maps 1949-1986

By Announcement, Imagery, Resource, USGS, , , , , , , , ,
  • USGS 24K Historic Topo Map
The images above illustrate the differences in scale between 24K, 100K, and 250K USGS Topographic Maps. Notice the change in level of detail.


The ISU GIS Facility Manager, Robin McNeely, recently gave a presentation for the Iowa Geographic Information Council Lunch and Learn series about new data products that the GIS Facility has been producing. Here is a link to watch Robin’s presentation, which begins around (29:20): https://iastate.webex.com/iastate/ldr.php?RCID=64ed815f6c8eaa323fa5c88cc36d7d60.

She highlighted the completion of the Historic United States Geological Survey (USGS) 24,000 Topographic Map series ArcGIS service. The 24k historic topo maps were downloaded from the USGS TopoViewer as georeferenced .tif files, inventoried and put into an ArcGIS mosaic dataset. The dates for those maps for Iowa are 1949-1986. They are currently in a published map service on ortho.gis.iastate.edu and as a layer in the Iowa Geographic Map Server (see map below.)

Dear Teachers: A New Year, A New You!

By Announcement, Dear Teachers, Education, Event, Outreach, Tutorials, , , , ,

As we begin this new year you may want to challenge yourself with a new skill. Esri has a 6-week program, Learn ArcGIS Educator Program for New Users, available to give you an introduction to many of the core applications available for the classroom. Each week you will spend time watching videos related to the topic, take notes, share you thoughts using Flipgrid and discussion boards. For more information and resources visit the Learn ArcGIS Educator Program Hub: https://learn-arcgis-educator-program-new-user-learngis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/welcome.

Landsat: Launching into A New Year

By Announcement, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, USGS, , , ,

USGS just released a Story Map summary wrapping up 2021 and the exciting developments with the Landsat mission including a newly launched satellite and 10 million scenes in the archive mark two high points.

Here’s the link to explore it yourself: https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/launching-into-a-new-year/

Summer 2021 NAIP Imagery Now on ISU Orthoserver

By Announcement, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Outreach, Tutorials, , , , , , ,

Iowa Statewide summer 2021 imagery is now available as a webservice from the Iowa Geographic Map Server. https://ortho.gis.iastate.edu/arcgis/rest/services/ortho
Please note: you may have to adjust the symbology to get the best color.

Here are some suggestions for doing this is ArcGIS Pro, within the Symbology tab, use the dropdown menus to adjust the color.

  • Change Stretch type to Minimum Maximum.
  • Also consider changing the Statistics from Dataset to DRA (Dynamic Range Adjustment). See the example below.
Before Adjustments

After Adjustments

GIS Day @ ISU!!! Wednesday, November 17 2-4pm College of Design Main Lobby

By Activity, Announcement, Education, Event, Geography Awareness Week, Outreach, , , , , , , , ,

Join the ISU Geographic Information Systems Support and Research Facility to celebrate GIS Day! Enjoy themed cupcakes and poster and trading card giveaways, and learn more about the Geographic Information Science minor and GIS graduate certificate program.

The event will be from 2–4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the foyer inside the main entrance to the College of Design.

https://www.design.iastate.edu/event-listings/2021/11/gis-day-celebration/

Discover your local geographic Information Council and other groups

By Announcement, Education, Geography Awareness Week, IGIC, Outreach,

The Iowa Geographic Information Council (IGIC) is an organization of geospatial professional across the of Iowa. It provides geospatial support allowing individuals to ask questions and provides opportunities to collaborate as well as network. IGIC is governed by a 25 member board which represent 9 different sectors. There are quarterly meetings as well as a yearly conference (Iowa Technology and Geospatial Conference) and other opportunities to connect with geospatially minded people.

IGIC hosts monthly virtual Lunch and Learn events. These have been very successful for IGIC especially as members are widely distributed across the state.  Each session is recorded and available on the IGIC website.

You are invited to join this month’s “GIS Day” Lunch and Learn: Mulitpurpose Use of Street Level Imagery with Bill Wetzel, Cyclomedia Technology @ 12pm – Wednesday November 17, 2021. He will discuss how local governments and utilities rely on technology initiatives that optimize management of properties, assets, and infrastructure. For more information: https://www.iowagic.org/igic-lunch-learn-street-level-imagery/ .