I saw them once, when I was a kid in Racine, about 25 miles south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My brother lived on the north side of Milwaukee, and saw them quite frequently.
My wife saw them here in the Sierra Foothills north of Sacramento once - but I wasn't home that night. I've been to Alaska three times - a total of almost five weeks - and didn't see the Northern Lights. Heck, I hardly ever saw a clear sky during that time.
-Joe-