Arlene Zacher says conversation usually covers the gamut at the weekly women's coffee klatch in Parshall. But on Saturday, not a word was spoken about an Air Force rocket booster laying in a ditch a few miles east of where the women were sipping coffee.

"We talked about the oil boom, weddings - everything under the sun," Zacher said. "But nobody ever mentioned that missile. I guess that shows that people aren't worried about it - I'm certainly not."

The Air Force said a truck carrying a rocket booster for an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile tipped over on a northwestern North Dakota road on Thursday, but there was no threat to the public.

The truck and booster rocket, which is 66 feet long and weighs 75,000 pounds, was still overturned on the side of the road on Saturday, while weapons experts studied the situation.

"The scene is still in the assessment phase," said Maj. Laurie A. Arellano, an Air Force spokeswoman. "It's still on its side in the ditch."

Arellano said the wreck would remain there for a least a few more days.

"A complete recovery operation is expected to start next week, and we will move the truck if possible," Arellano said. "It has to be 100 percent stable for movement. It's not a quick process - we have to make sure everything is stable first."

The transport rig crashed on a gravel road at about 8 a.m. Thursday between Parshall and Makoti about 70 miles from Minot Air Force Base, from where it departed, the Air Force said. The rocket booster was not armed with a nuclear warhead, the Air Force said.

The truck was traveling from the air base to a launch facility in northwestern North Dakota, the military said. Two airmen in the vehicle were not seriously injured, the Air Force said.

Arellano said the area is being guarded by armed airmen and the public has been asked to avoid the area.

The crash is under investigation.

Zacher said residents in Parshall, a town of about 1,000 people, are used to missiles being transported in the area, and they trust the Air Force.

"If there is a problem, they will take care of it," she said. "They do a very good job."

The overturned truck and rocket booster is nearer to Makoti, a farming community of about 145 people.

Bar owner Dene Karna said the crash has hardly been a hot topic.

"I guess you could call us a laid back town," Karna said. "No one around here cares if there is a missile laying in a ditch over there - the talk of the town is the harvest."

Darwin Quandt, of Makoti, said he isn't worried.

"They're moving them things around all the time, so we're used to it," Quandt said.

"As long as it ain't going off, we're OK," he said. "And if it did, it wouldn't matter anyway."