Just as the sun started to set on Friday, casting long shadows in the woods around the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds – about 50 people gathered by a side stage. 

Many of the adults climbed into costumes, smeared fake blood on their faces or pulled distorted masks on before heading into the woods for the “zombie zone.” 

The kids strapped flag-football-style belts around their waists and considered how best to protect their flags while running…

Rashah McChesney is a multimedia journalist and editor who has reported and edited newsrooms from the Deep South to the Midwest to Alaska. For the past decade, she has worked in collaborative news as the...