News

Nome, AK - The 42nd Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will go down as one of the toughest in history.  this year’s winner crossed the finish line in Nome in record time but only after heavy winds took out the presumed winner.

One of Alaska’s foremost historians has died. Claus-M. Naske passed away last week at age 78, after a long battle with cancer. Naske was a professor of history at the University of Alaska –Fairbanks who wrote or co-authored nearly a dozen books about Alaska history.

White Mountain, AK - The first few Iditarod teams are into White Mountain.  They will rest for a mandatory eight hours before the move on through Safety and into Nome where they will cross the finish line.

The Alaska Department of Health is looking into possible coal ash health impacts from Aurora Energy’s downtown Fairbanks plant. Coal ash is increasingly coming under scrutiny around the country due to contamination from large scale spills, but as KUAC’s Dan Bross reports, the situation in Fairbanks is different.

Koyuk, AK - Mushers were met with an unforgiving trail as they pushed up the coast from Unalakleet to Koyuk, Sunday.  They battled wind, miles of glare ice and more snow free trail.  As KUAC’s Emily Schwing reports, they’re also battling extreme fatigue and grappling with how best to cut rest and maintain speed as they close in on Nome.

Nulato, AK - Iditarod mushers kept volunteers in the Nulato checkpoint busy overnight. Some teams that weren’t expected to stay grabbed a few hours rest in the sleepy Yukon River village, while others decided to move along.

Galena, AK - Mushers and their dog teams passed in and out of Galena on various schedules throughout the afternoon.

Martin Buser was the first to take off out of the second checkpoint along the Yukon River.  As he put booties on his dogs, he teased Aaron Burmeister about his howling team. “You have to breed a little better eaters there Aaron!” called Buser. 

Ruby, AK - Some mushers are still trying to hold dog teams back despite the fast Yukon River miles ahead.  The most experienced mushers know the river miles can be fast, but there’s still a tough run up the Bering Sea Coast ahead.

Four-time Champion Jeff King has run the Iditarod 23 times.  He knows exactly what it means when teams reach the Yukon River. “Well, it will be a chance to really evaluate team speed,” he says.