So, when it's dark enough for the fireworks to show up they will start, probably 9:30 PM.
Around here it's still very light at 9.30 and it's closer to 10.30 before the fireworks start.
(It depends not only on how far north you live - the farther north, the later the sunset - but also where you live in your time zone. The farther west you live, the later the sun sets - and rises - all year round. I remember camping in Upper Michigan's Porcupine Mountains State Park. The time zone line is near the park. From the right spot, the sun set around 9.05 but if you walked a little ways east, it was suddenly setting at 10.05. )
Around here, people send off fireworks at New Years also, but it's mostly small stuff done privately. And late at night
That's also true here, though the fact that it can routinely be -30C here on New Year's Eve tends to dampen that a bit. This time of year, it's another story. There always seem to be the popping of "personal fireworks" for a few weeks centered on July 4.
It's probably true about Alaska, even in Anchorage the largest city in the state, there are bears and moose in the city. Keep in mind that Anchorage is about the same size of city as St. Louis, Missouri, so that's kind of crazy thing.
Bear sightings are becoming more and more common in the suburban areas of the Twin Cities (metro population about 3.5 million) as urban development spreads north towards the bears' natural habitat. In fact, just the other day a man in a town just northwest of the metro area shot and killed a bear in his backyard because he feared for his daughter.