Not often do you find a conference offering FREE pre-event workshops.  AND, although we would love to have you come for a workshop and stay for the  Upper Midwest Geospatial Conference (UMGEOCON), it's NOT required. So check out the amazing offerings, all available for $0.00:

• Introduction to GeoMOOSE in the Cloud (or your laptop, or even your Pi) - A hands-on learning session about this award winning open-source software used by hundreds of units of government around the world to display their geospatial data online.

• Tips and Tricks for Making Better Maps - Jennifer Harrison is flying in all the way from Houston, Texas to help attendees become heaps smarter about lesser known tips and tricks for making better maps using standard ArcGIS functionality. Don't miss it!

• USGS Mapping Meltdown Madness! - Not to be out done by OpenStreetMap, the USGS is determined to put verification of The National Map in the hands of U.S. citizens. Learn the in's and out's of this effort and then help make America's official map become the envy of the world by joining other workshop attendees in an editing session!

• Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About the U.S. National Grid (and more!) - Whether you are a hard core GIS type, or a front line first-responder, you'll leave this workshop ready to return home and pass along what you have learned about USNG to your co-workers. Something that will be valuable to your entire community as FEMA's October 2015 decision to make USNG the language of location for emergencies and disasters grows in importance and implementation.  

• National Geodetic Survey "Presents" - This is a workshop on steroids comprised of five (5) mini learning sessions on current and future geodetic issues that are coming down the tracks like a freight train without brakes on a Rocky Mountain descent. NGS/NOAA brain power from across the nation will be on display during these sessions.

• Simplify LiDAR with Cloud - Jetting in from Seattle, Washington, Mark Korver will be bringing his toolbox of knowledge straight from Amazon Web Services world headquarters.  Show up for this one and you'll see first-hand why LiDAR and Cloud is the perfect marriage.

• Growing Future Skills: Building Dynamic Maps with CartoDB - Just a few seats left so apparently the word is on the street about this one. Bottom line: participants will leave this workshop ready to use all the advanced functionality of CartoDB to create future projects.  Sweeeeeet!