Category Archives: Practical Applications

Missouri’s Nonpartisan State Demographer

Gerrymandering Works Redistricting a state legislative map can increase a political party’s power base for a solid ten years. This is power they didn’t have to earn at the ballot box one local election at a time. It is power they give themselves by deft maneuvers and sleight of hand involving demographic and geographic nuances. Done correctly, it… Read More »

USE WITH CAUTION: The County Assessor’s Maps

You need to read this post if you use online county government maps. The Takeaways “What boundaries are is a matter of law; where boundaries are is a matter of fact.” Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location, sixth edition, page 3. A court of proper jurisdiction may determine the extent of a property owner’s rights, which is the… Read More »

Lawyers and Geography

“Ignorance of the geography is no excuse, Counselor.” Here’s the thesis of this article: There are geographic resources out there. Attorneys, you don’t have to make up geographic stuff and then turn your ignorance of geography into a regulation no one can really interpret or follow. One of my favorite blatant lies emanating from the legal world is,… Read More »

Ancient Boundary Issues

If a property boundary dispute is older than 25 years old, in the legal field, we call it an ancient boundary dispute. These disputes are very common! ancient, adj. Evidence. (14c) Having existed for a long time without interruptions, usu. at least 20 to 30 years <ancient deed> <ancient map>. • Ancient items are usu. presumed to be… Read More »

Missouri Mappers 2019

Welcome to a partnership between the Missouri Mappers Association and GeoVelo where we are developing a uniform manual of procedures and resources for every Missouri government cadastral mapper Thank you! I am grateful the Missouri Mappers Association who have asked me back for the third year in a row to teach another set of classes at their 2019… Read More »

Home-Brewed Ground Control Markers

DIY UAV Ground Control Markers Hey, Kids! It’s All Drones These Days! Thanks to their availability, quality, and increasing ease of use, many GIS organizations are collecting aerial imagery with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). With the abundance of high-resolution imagery coming from UAVs, members of the GIS tribe often find ourselves using ground control markers (GCMs) to georeference… Read More »