The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art is partnering with Mosaic Life Care for the Business + Art = Inspired Workplaces program.

According to a press release, the Mosaic Art Experience Galleries will include individually themed and innovative art galleries at Mosaic Life Care.

Mosaic and the AKMA invite artists 16 years of age and up who reside in the 27-county area of Mosaic to participate in the juried exhibition. The 27-county area includes northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska.

Participating artists will have the artwork displayed for six months starting March 22nd. The Art Experience Galleries Opening Event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 22nd.

Each work submitted for the Exhibition should follow one of these themes:

-In the Woods

-My Home Town

-Escape

-My Hero

Each artist may submit an unlimited number of works. For more information and guidelines, click here.

The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, February 5th.

A project is underway to tell the story of how Amelia Earhart lived.

Chris Williamson is the creator of the Chasing Earhart Project. Williamson said his interest in Earhart goes back to third grade.

“My teacher, I remember, put up all these 8x10s all around the room of all these famous Americans and you had Martin Luther King, you had Harriet Tubman… Theodore Roosevelt, all those great Americans and then you had this woman who, at the time I had no idea who she was, it was the famous bomber jacket photo with her hands on her hips,” Williamson said. “I did a history day project on (Earhart), I just kind of fell in love with her life and the way she was and the obstacles that she overcame and just her story. Then, of course, you get this incredible 39 years of living and all the stuff that she went through and all the stuff that she did and that’s before you get to the disappearance, which is probably the juiciest disappearance of all time.”

Williamson said he did multiple school projects throughout the years and continued to have an interest in Earhart’s life. Williamson’s background is in Information Technology (IT) but about nine years ago, he started researching with the intention of doing some sort of project about Amelia Earhart. What eventually started out as a podcast project turned into also working on a documentary. Williamson said he originally didn’t want to do a documentary because there are already so many, until his wife changed his mind with one sentence.

“If you look at the documentaries, they either sway two ways, they’re either completely biased toward one hypothesis or they’re about how she died, but what if you flipped it and talk about how she lived instead.”

Williamson said the plan, because of the amount of content and interviews so far, will be to make a documentary series of 14 installments or episodes about an hour-long each. The estimated completion date for the documentary is in Fall 2019. The podcast is still a part of the project, offering in-depth discussions with the guests of the documentary.

Williamson said he and his wife are originally from southern California. They do a lot of traveling because of the project and traveled to Atchison, Kansas, for the Amelia Earhart Festival.

“While we were out here, my wife really fell in love with the ambiance. She has been wanting to get out of southern California for quite some time and she wanted to go to a place that you could experience all the seasons and kind of have a change in her life and we have an eight-year-old son we wanted to raise somewhere different than southern California,” Williamson said. “We were out here shooting and we fell in love with the place and decided to move out here. I think for us it’s really twofold, not only is it a personal decision but it really helps the project to be based out of Atchison, Kansas, because Atchison really is the “Mecca” of Amelia Earhart.”

Williamson said as part of the project, he and his team are putting together a Chasing Earhart discussion panel which will be July 21st at this year’s Amelia Earhart festival. The first two guests were announced Tuesday and they are Abigail ‘Astronaut Abby’ Harrison, Founder of The Mars Generation and International STEAM and Space Ambassador and Shaesta Waiz, the youngest civilian pilot to fly around the world solo in a single engine aircraft. Waiz also launched the Dreams Soar foundation which encourages young girls and young women who have an interest in the fields of aviation and STEM to pursue their dreams.

For more information, go to chasingearhart.com.

Listen to the full interview with Chris Williamson below:

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that there were seven fatalities during the New Year’s holiday counting period.

The counting period runs from 6 p.m., Friday, December 29, 2017 to 11:59 p.m. Monday, January 1, 2018.

According to a news release, troopers investigated 229 traffic crashes, which included 77 injuries and five of the seven fatalities. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Sullivan (MO) Police Department each investigated one traffic crash fatality during the counting period. In addition, troopers made 129 arrests for driving while intoxicated and 49 drug arrests during the 2018 New Year counting period. There were no boating crashes or drownings during the 2018 New Year’s holiday counting period.

Last year over the New Year’s holiday counting period, Missouri law enforcement agencies reported 539 traffic crashes, which injured 302 people. There were eight fatalities during the 2017 New Year’s holiday counting period. In addition, troopers made 103 arrests for driving while intoxicated and 67 drug arrests. There were no boating incidents or drownings during the 2017 New Year’s holiday counting period.

Three traffic crash fatalities occurred in the Troop C, Weldon Spring, area; two traffic crash fatalities occurred in the Troop E, Poplar Bluff area, and one traffic crash fatality occurred in each of the Troop G, Willow Spring area and the Troop H, St. Joseph area.

There were no traffic crash fatalities during the counting period Friday, December 29, 2017.

Three people died in traffic crashes on Saturday, December 30, 2017. Gregory A. Reynolds, 73, of Clarkton died when the vehicle he was driving began sliding, ran off the roadway, and overturned. The crash occurred in Dunklin County on Missouri Highway 25 north of Clarkton. Dunklin County Coroner James Powell pronounced Reynolds dead at the scene of the crash. Reynolds was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Gary D. Greenwood, 19, of Mountain Grove died when he overcorrected, causing the vehicle he was driving to travel off the roadway and overturn. Greenwood was ejected from the vehicle. The crash occurred in Texas County on Missouri Route AM east of Mountain Grove. Texas County Coroner Marie Lasater pronounced Greenwood deceased. It is unknown whether or not Greenwood was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Phillip G. Hoenig, 49, of St. Charles died when another vehicle ran a red light and struck Hoenig’s vehicle as he was turning left. The crash occurred in St. Louis at the intersection of Hall Street and Adelaide Avenue. Hoenig was transported to St. Louis University Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Dr. Jennifer La’Plant pronounced Hoenig deceased at the hospital. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the crash.

Two people died as a result of traffic crashes on Sunday, December 31, 2017. Bonita D. Fuller, 67, of Jackson died when the vehicle she was driving traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a utility pole and a ditch, went airborne, then struck a tree and a house. The crash occurred in Cape Girardeau County on U.S. Highway 61 in Fruitland, MO. Cape Girardeau County Deputy Coroner David Taylor pronounced Fuller dead at the scene. Fuller was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Cole Watson, 20, of Sullivan died when the vehicle he was driving drove off the roadway. Watson was ejected from the vehicle. The crash occurred on Vine Street in the city of Sullivan. Watson was pronounced deceased at Missouri Baptist Hospital. Watson was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The Sullivan Police Department investigated the crash.

Two people died as a result of traffic crashes on New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1, 2018. Brandon M. Scott, 28, of Independence died after the vehicle he was driving failed to stop at the intersection of Missouri Route A and Missouri Route H in Turney in Clinton County. The vehicle then traveled off the edge of the intersection and struck a hedge post, coming to rest on its driver’s side. Clinton County Coroner Lee Hanks pronounced Scott dead at the scene. Scott was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Clinton County Sheriff’s Department and Lathrop Fire Department also responded.

Gerald J. Beers, 79, of Festus died when the vehicle he was driving failed to yield while attempting to cross northbound U.S. Highway 67. A northbound vehicle struck Beers’ vehicle which rotated counter-clockwise into the left lane and was struck by a second vehicle. The crash occurred in Jefferson County on U.S. Highway 67 at Montauk Drive. Dr. Evans at Mercy Hospital pronounced Beers deceased at the hospital. Beers was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The driver and a passenger in the first vehicle that struck Beers’ vehicle sustained minor injuries; neither were wearing seat belts. The driver of the second vehicle that struck Beers’ vehicle was not injured; he was wearing a seat belt.

The cause of an apartment fire that began Monday night is under investigation.

According to the St. Joseph Fire Department, the call originally came in around 10 p.m. and was reported as an explosion at 720 North 7th Street.

All residents were accounted for and got out of the seven-unit apartment safely. The building was a total loss.

As of 9 a.m., fire crews were still on scene.