Missouri prepares for 2017 Great American Eclipse

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The "Great American Eclipse" -- a total eclipse of the sun -- is expected to draw thousands of people to Missouri when it darkens the skies Aug. 21, 2017.

Experts say the path of the eclipse will give St. Joseph the best view in the state, going dark for more than 2 minutes.

The Southeast Missouri towns of Perryville, Altenburg, Biehle, Frohna, Lithium, St. Mary and Ste. Genevieve also will see the full eclipse for more than two minutes, according to eclipse2017.org.

Cape Girardeau, Gordonville, Jackson and Scott City are on the southern edge, and it will be less than 2 minutes in those locations.

Eclipse enthusiasts already are making plans. Isobel McGowan, owner of Shakespeare Chateau Inn & Gardens in St. Joseph, said her bed-and-breakfast already is sold out for Sunday, Aug. 20, and Monday, Aug. 21, with one caller coming from Spain, The Kansas City Star reported.

"The eclipse community has been salivating over this one for 20 years," said Dan McGlaun of Indiana, who runs eclipse2017.org. "You don't have to go to Mongolia. And if you live in Kansas City (especially north of the Missouri River), you could potentially watch it in your jammies from your deck."

The last time the Kansas City area saw a total eclipse this close was in 1806, and the next time will be 2205.

The "path of totality" will clip northeast Kansas and cut across Missouri, bisecting Kansas City and the St. Louis area. During the eclipse, St. Joseph will go dark for 2 minutes and 38 seconds, one of the longest times in the nation.

The longest viewing time in the country is 2 minutes, 41 seconds, just south of Carbondale, Illinois.

Most of the Kansas City area will see a 99.9 percent eclipse, while Johnson County, Kansas, will get a 99.4 percent eclipse.

In 2012, more than 50,000 people visited Queensland, Australia, to see an eclipse.

"A lot of people are going to stay in Kansas City and drive up to St. Joe," said Michael Bakich, senior editor and photo editor of Astronomy Magazine. "It's a terrific economic opportunity for Kansas City."

Bakich, who ran the planetarium at the Kansas City Museum from 1989 to 1997 and now lives in Milwaukee, already is organizing a free eclipse watch party at St. Joe's Rosecrans Memorial Airport and has people coming from Florida, Texas, Arizona and Wisconsin.

"The (middle of the) path runs right across the approach end of our runway," airport general manager Abe Forney said. "If you're into astronomy, this is the spot."

Beth Conway, a spokeswoman for the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city will have other watch sites.