County's New 'Map Maker' Escapes Bustle Of D.C.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When Norm Bowman looks out his office window in the courthouse, he looks at the landscape a little differently than most people.
What might be a lush landscape to many is viewed by the 25-year-old map maker as a land use and a soil type outlined by transportation routes. And what some think of as a babbling brook, to Bowman, is simply a form of hydrology.
As for maps, he is probably the ideal backseat driver. When the newest employee of Kosciusko County made the trek a few weeks ago from his home in Washington, D.C., to Warsaw, he browsed through a map once before leaving and drove the entire trip without taking a wrong turn.
"I hardly ever get lost," Bowman said. "You take me one place one time and I'll get you back there.
"It's kind of an unusual characteristic," he admitted.
Bowman is confident he made the right turn in accepting the position as Kosciusko County's director of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a massive program that has as many applications as I-69 has exits.
GIS is a mapping system that assembles a variety of information. Think of it as a dozen types of maps stacked on top of each other and assembled into one coherent data base that will serve the public and all relevant government offices.
Kosciusko County is one of a handful of counties in Indiana that has sunk its teeth into the technology. Efforts to establish the program began two years ago and it will take another two or three years before the program is up and running.
County surveyor Richard Kemper, who was among those who interviewed Bowman, said they were impressed with his experience and plans for the future.
"We wanted somebody who wanted to stick around and be part of the community as well as the GIS," Kemper said.
Bowman accepted the job over other possibilities, including the Kansas City (Mo.) Plan Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the nation's capital.
While the other positions might sound more prestigious, a combination of factors made it a simple choice.
After getting his master's degree in geography from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Bowman worked two years making classified maps of world "hotspots" for the U.S. Department of Defense.
But he and his wife, Amy, grew tired of the densely populated and highly expensive environment of Washington.
"It's a neat city," said Bowman, who grew up in a rural Missouri town of about 6,000 people. "It's just not for us."
The chance of developing a GIS from the ground up was a major attraction for Bowman.
"That's why I came here. I chose this over a few other positions because of the challenge of putting it together, living in a nice place and being able to say, 'Look what I did.' "
GIS was developed in Canada as a method of inventorying natural resources data, but has evolved into a major management tool with a variety of applications that make it the premiere high-tech mapping system.
GIS will contain everything from land use and soil types to elevations and census data.
The primary reason for adapting GIS is to provide an accurate base map for Kosciusko County's 558 square miles. When complete, it will provide a one-stop clearing house of information that will eliminate much of the redundancy in government services.
Gone will be the day when the sale of a property requires visits to three county offices. And instead of having lengthy delays in entering the information, the change will be immediate.
In addition, GIS can accommodate a range of public uses. Contractors wanting to know where utilities are buried and schools wanting to find more efficient bus routes are just some of the possibilities.
Potential applications continue to evolve.
"People are still coming up with new ideas and saying 'Hey, could you do this?' and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, give me about three years to get to it.' "
In a way, Bowman said he is simultaneously mapping out his long-range plans as well. After living in four cities in eight years, he's ready to settle down.
"I'm looking at it as a long-term thing ... My wife would like to have kids and settle down and so would I. I'd like to get a house with a yard - the American Dream - and relax a little bit." [[In-content Ad]]
When Norm Bowman looks out his office window in the courthouse, he looks at the landscape a little differently than most people.
What might be a lush landscape to many is viewed by the 25-year-old map maker as a land use and a soil type outlined by transportation routes. And what some think of as a babbling brook, to Bowman, is simply a form of hydrology.
As for maps, he is probably the ideal backseat driver. When the newest employee of Kosciusko County made the trek a few weeks ago from his home in Washington, D.C., to Warsaw, he browsed through a map once before leaving and drove the entire trip without taking a wrong turn.
"I hardly ever get lost," Bowman said. "You take me one place one time and I'll get you back there.
"It's kind of an unusual characteristic," he admitted.
Bowman is confident he made the right turn in accepting the position as Kosciusko County's director of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a massive program that has as many applications as I-69 has exits.
GIS is a mapping system that assembles a variety of information. Think of it as a dozen types of maps stacked on top of each other and assembled into one coherent data base that will serve the public and all relevant government offices.
Kosciusko County is one of a handful of counties in Indiana that has sunk its teeth into the technology. Efforts to establish the program began two years ago and it will take another two or three years before the program is up and running.
County surveyor Richard Kemper, who was among those who interviewed Bowman, said they were impressed with his experience and plans for the future.
"We wanted somebody who wanted to stick around and be part of the community as well as the GIS," Kemper said.
Bowman accepted the job over other possibilities, including the Kansas City (Mo.) Plan Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the nation's capital.
While the other positions might sound more prestigious, a combination of factors made it a simple choice.
After getting his master's degree in geography from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Bowman worked two years making classified maps of world "hotspots" for the U.S. Department of Defense.
But he and his wife, Amy, grew tired of the densely populated and highly expensive environment of Washington.
"It's a neat city," said Bowman, who grew up in a rural Missouri town of about 6,000 people. "It's just not for us."
The chance of developing a GIS from the ground up was a major attraction for Bowman.
"That's why I came here. I chose this over a few other positions because of the challenge of putting it together, living in a nice place and being able to say, 'Look what I did.' "
GIS was developed in Canada as a method of inventorying natural resources data, but has evolved into a major management tool with a variety of applications that make it the premiere high-tech mapping system.
GIS will contain everything from land use and soil types to elevations and census data.
The primary reason for adapting GIS is to provide an accurate base map for Kosciusko County's 558 square miles. When complete, it will provide a one-stop clearing house of information that will eliminate much of the redundancy in government services.
Gone will be the day when the sale of a property requires visits to three county offices. And instead of having lengthy delays in entering the information, the change will be immediate.
In addition, GIS can accommodate a range of public uses. Contractors wanting to know where utilities are buried and schools wanting to find more efficient bus routes are just some of the possibilities.
Potential applications continue to evolve.
"People are still coming up with new ideas and saying 'Hey, could you do this?' and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, give me about three years to get to it.' "
In a way, Bowman said he is simultaneously mapping out his long-range plans as well. After living in four cities in eight years, he's ready to settle down.
"I'm looking at it as a long-term thing ... My wife would like to have kids and settle down and so would I. I'd like to get a house with a yard - the American Dream - and relax a little bit." [[In-content Ad]]