Some small Missouri towns that'll offer a view next year's total solar eclipse are trying to prepare for the event. The Kansas City Star reports that the total solar eclipse will occur Aug. 21, 2017.
Small towns like Lathrop, Missouri, which is northeast of Kansas City, are on what is known as the path of totality, a narrow line across the country that slices through the middle of Missouri, that will offer the best and longest views of the eclipse. Lathrop has formed a 150th anniversary and eclipse planning committee. Committee chairwoman Cindy Weers says she envisions the town's fields filled with eclipse chasers and tourists. Weers says she's been told to expect anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 people.
James Schmieder, assistant city administrator for Union, Missouri, is organizing his town's plans for the eclipse and says any headaches about preparing for the event will be worth it.
The path of totality also runs near Columbia, and almost directly through Boonville and St. Joseph.
For more information about the eclipse, follow this link to NASA's website.