A coming change will affect hundreds of thousands of Missourians, and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill believes too few of her constituents understand it.

Her staff has planned sessions in Buchanan and Andrew counties to talk about the transition to digital television.

One meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday at Westchester Village, 2302 Village Drive, in St. Joseph. The other will begin at 12:30 p.m. on May 29 at the Andrew County Senior Center, 101 S. Fourth St., in Savannah.

The meetings come about nine months before the federal mandate for television stations to stop broadcasting analog signals. When that happens on Feb. 17, 2009, analog televisions not connected to cable, satellite or digital converter boxes will no longer capture programming.

Ms. McCaskill’s staff believes as many as 400,000 Missouri households will be affected.

“We need to get the word out about how the government can help,” the senator said.

As part of the transition, the federal government has a program offering two $40 vouchers that can be applied to the purchase of converter boxes. The boxes cost from $40 to $60. People must request the coupons, 20 percent of which already have been distributed.

For information about the transition or the coupons, people can call (888) DTV-2009, or visit the Web sites www.dtv.gov or www.dtv2009.gov.