As attendees of the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium Fall Conference know, the Geospatial Commons was recently awarded a Governor's Geospatial Commendation. The Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council (GAC) recommends the Governor’s Office’s award, and it is only presented in years when nominated efforts meet the very high standards set by the Council. This year, the Governor’s Geospatial Commendation also recognized the John R. Borchert Map Library for its historical aerial photographs collection.

The Commons received the Governor's Geospatial Commendation award for successfully combining many prior data distribution sites into one focal point of access, streamlining search and discovery efforts, and encouraging more organizations in the state to publish free and open spatial data. As GAC chair Mark Kotz said in his nomination of the Commons, "The true value of data is derived from its use. Making authoritative, well documented data easily discoverable in a single place for Minnesota ensures that data usage is maximized, providing an exponential return on investment for data creators, data consumers, and ultimately for the citizens of Minnesota."

The Commons team appreciates this recognition and is very thankful to all of our publishers, users, and sponsors for making the Commons what it is today. Thank you!