It was clear here last night and I went out and looked, but didn't see anything. The "forecasts" have never been very reliable in my experience. When I've seen it it's either because my wife saw people posting about it on FB, or like the night before last we were just in the right place at the right time.

The neighbors posted numerous great pictures
Of the skies here in northern Illinois.

I.i.r.c. from 7th grade science,
Somehow the gravity and plasma has
Something to do with these light shows.

Are there a lot more occurrences of these
Now than there used to be ?

I only remember two or three times as a kid
In eastern Iowa that these were mentioned.

Is there a lot more plasma now than there used to be ?

Or wasn't it considered a big deal that didn't merit all
the media attention that we have these days.

The number and severity of solar flares and coronal mass ejections hasn't changed, afaik. The issue is that the earth's magnetic field has weakened quite substantially over the past 20 years, and even more over the past century. This is part of the process of the magnetic field reversing N to S, S to N. That happens every 200,000 years according to the internet.

The magnetic field directs the charged particles from the sun around the earth. With stronger solar ejections, or now with the weaker magnetic field, the particles have an easier time penetrating into the atmosphere. That's when they energize atoms and create the colors. We're seeing more intense northern lights and seeing them further south because of the weaker magnetic field protection.

If the magnetic orientation of the solar ejection is in one direction, it couples more strongly with the magnetic field and creates more intense effects.

There's something called the Global Electric Circuit which is a flow of electricity from the upper atmosphere into the earth. It is connected to the severity of thunderstorms as well as other weather or geologic events. Solar particles fuel it, so there is strong evidence that much of what is being blamed on "climate change" is being caused by solar events having stronger effect due to the weaker magnetic field. That's a whole other rabbit hole!