Saturday, September 27, 2008

Another job, another state completed.  I’m not going to compare North Dakota with South Dakota, but North Dakota showed me a great time; in the air.  On my last day of work, Ulteig took me up in a plane to overlook Fargo and some Floodplains.  Every landowner wants to be OUT of the 100-year floodplain to avoid the required flood insurance.  That’s when Ulteig steps.  Homeowners ask Ulteig to survey their land in order to prove to FEMA that they are in or out of the 100-year flood zone.  Any new development is regulated by the City of Fargo to make sure they are higher than the Base Flood Elevation (BFE).  If you have an 80-acre lot and only one inch of your lot is in the 100-year flood zone, by law you would be required by mortgage companies to get flood insurance.  A homeowner would obviously argue that, but that’s how it typically works. 

Mapping is used for thousands of planning projects; roads, bike paths, oil fields, wind farms, etc.  If you’re interested in the surveying side of mapping, you would go out into the fields and mark coordinates and elevations.  If you’re interested in the engineering side of mapping, you would choose specific areas for new development.  Lastly, if you’re interested in strictly mapping, then you would take the data from the survey and create the map. 

Heading to Minnesota……………

Thursday, September 25, 2008

It was a busy day in the office at Ulteig.  I attended several meetings about Floodplain Management.  On my first day of work, I was aware of how bad Fargo could flood.  Almost the whole city is under a 100-year flood zone; meaning there is a 1% chance that their property will flood in a single year.  A 500-year flood zone is much more unlikely for a flood to occur.  We were supposed to fly in a small plane to overlook the Floodplains, but it was too windy.  We will try again tomorrow.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) surveys the land to mark the flood zones.  FEMA requires homeowners in the 100-year flood zone to get insurance.  Ulteig creates Floodplain maps for cities and consults with homeowners. 

Cartographers can deal with various projects.  I have been exposed to several types, which have all been intriguing.  Besides the Floodplain mapping, I have seen proposed Wind-farms and Oil Refineries.  I didn’t realize how important mapping was until I started working at Ulteig.  Mapping is used for all types of planning.  I’ll write about the overall career tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I’m staying with a family that has 4 kids.  One of the boys plays high school football and I’ll have the chance to watch him play this Friday at his Homecoming.  He told me that all the spectators and athletes get tested with a breathalyzer.  I’m not sure if that is a North Dakota thing, but that is something I’ve
never heard before.  Anyone that looks under 21 will get tested.  I’ll find out this Friday if they’re going to test me.  I hope I don’t accidentally have dessert containing alcohol before I go.

In my last journal, I mentioned that I was going to explore Fargo.  I didn’t have the chance because I was invited to meet the Governor of North Dakota.  Governor Hoeven was very intrigued with my project that he told me to explain it to others; one of the others happened to be the Vice President of Microsoft.  He

was very impressed with my project that I thought he was about to jump in my car to Minnesota.  I couldn’t have more of a welcoming than that.

The next day I started to make my map for my project with Ulteig.  The software that we used, “ArcMap” has an amazing database that could include anything and everything on your map.  I created a pretty basic map with elevation, highways, and rivers.  I will post it tomorrow.

After work, I got a call from the local radio station.  It was my first live appearance which was a great experience.  There were so many callers to the show, but I ended up talking about my project/life the whole time.  I didn’t get a chance to answer any questions from the listeners.  The next morning, I presented my project to Ulteig and they had the chance to ask a bunch of questions.  I will have the video posted soon. 

Fargo has been treating me pretty so well.  I walked into the YMCA and mentioned to the staff how well I’ve been treated in Fargo.  They took a look at my website and heard I was published on the front page news and wanted to take pictures with me.  After the photo session, I drove back to the house.  When I arrived, Mrs. Jones (host) heard that I was taken pictures with some YMCA staff members.  “How did you know about that?” I had to ask.  “One of the girl’s moms called me and heard that the “50/50” guy is staying at my house,” she answered.  I was still confused and then I figured out that the YMCA girl must have seen the pictures and recognized my host and called her mom. 

Well tomorrow, I will be flying a plane over Fargo……..I honestly think North Dakota is trying to outdo my experience in South Dakota.

Monday, September 22, 2008

As soon as I crossed the border from South to North Dakota, I wasn’t anticipating a scenic drive.  I can almost guarantee, you’ll never see flatter land than Eastern was told that you could see the natural curve of the earth.  I did hit one slope though, when I tried to park my car and accidentally hit the curb.  I came into North Dakota last night and was hosted by the Smith family.  They seemed to be very proud to live in North Dakota, even though the weather can hit -50 degrees.  In the winter, people build ice villages and camp out on the frozen lake. 

Speaking of lakes; many residents of Fargo and the surrounding area have lake homes across the Red River in Minnesota.  On my first day at work, I learned quite a bit about the Red River.  The Red River flows north, just like the Nile in Egypt, but the flow to the north causes major issues.  The Red River is

susceptible to flooding because of the blockage from ice caps in Canada along with the melting of snow from the south, which flows upward towards Fargo.  In 1997, Fargo had one of the worst floods in history.  Mike Zimney, Cartographer at Ulteig, showed me maps of flood zones around Fargo, which is basically the entire city.  Then he drove me around the flood zones just to see it for myself. 

Time to explore Fargo……