For the Washington Post: Alaska pragmatic on N. Korean Missile Threat (Bonus: story mention on Colbert!)

Had a good time talking to Alaskans with photographer Ash Adams last week for a Washington Post story about whether we’re worried about a threat from North Korea

Here’s how the story begins:

ANCHORAGE — There have been times in Alaska’s history when people have had deep anxiety about foreign threats. The state was bombed and two of its islands were occupied by the Japanese in World War II. And it is, after all, the closest anyone can get to Russia and still be on American soil.

But nobody here seems all that worried right now.

With North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week, the news has been filled with speculation that a nuclear warhead could reach the Last Frontier and that Anchorage could be the most realistic U.S. target for destruction. But people here have been talking about the possibility of missile strikes for decades, and Alaskans tend to focus on more tangible hazards, like avalanches covering the highway, bear maulings at campgrounds, boating accidents and earthquakes.

“I’m worried about moose, not missiles,” quipped Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. “Bears, not bombs.”

Read the rest of the story here.

And, hilariously, the story wound up on Colbert, watch it here.