Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

As Iditarod mushers decide when and where to take their mandatory 24-hour layovers, the leaders are in to the ghost town of Iditarod. And our trail reporters are breaking into their snack packs! Also, we hear from a Takotna elder about the moose he shot and fed at the village checkpoint.

A lot has happened since the last podcast: Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe has scratched in her 36th Iditarod, which she said would be her last. Meantime, front-of-the-pack mushers are taking their 24-hour layovers, so this is a good time to talk about how times are adjusted to correct from the staggered, every-two-minute race starts. Plus: More off-trail drama related to dogs and drugs! Sheesh! We talk to a fellow Iditarod reporter about what has been described as a confrontational encounter between the race's head toxicologist and a musher right before the official start on Sunday.

Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe has scratched from the 2018 Iditarod. Listen now

Things get pretty technical for Iditarod mushers heading out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint and into the Dalzell Gorge before Rohn and Nikolai. Plus, we hear from animal-rights activist and documentary filmmaker Fern Levitt, and we get four-time Iditarod Jeff King's take on criticism of dog mushing.

In less than 24 hours, the Iditarod front-runners have made it to the Finger Lake checkpoint, 123 miles into the 1,000-mile race. But not before checking in at Yentna and Skwentna, the first two checkpoints after leaving Willow. And, even before that, KNOM's Davis Hovey caught up with two top candidates for Rookie of the Year: Two Rivers' Matt Hall and Nenana's Jessie Holmes.

Mushers in the 2018 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are officially on course for the 1,000-mile trek to Nome after the restart in Willow. We take a rather, uh, unique question from a listener, and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes does whatever it takes to get an interview.

The 2018 Iditarod kicks off with the ceremonial start in Anchorage and an 11-mile jaunt through downtown and the city's trails, past race revelers that call themselves "trailgaters." We introduce KNOM News Director and trail reporter Davis Hovey, and hear from DeeDee Jonrowe, Nicolas Petit and some of the folks along the trail.

Set up for Saturday's ceremonial Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race start in Anchorage means dumping thousands of pounds of snow on downtown streets. Listen now

We talk about this year's Kuskokwim 300, touch on the importance of mid-distance mushing races leading up to the Iditarod and talk to KUAC-FM reporter Zoe Rom about covering the Yukon Quest, Alaska's other 1,000-mile sled dog race. Also: We talk about the Anchorage ceremonial start, who we expect to see running at the front of the pack and answer our first listener question!

The Alaska State Troopers are at “critically low” staffing levels, according to a recruitment and retention plan report from the Department of Public Safety. Listen now

We look at three major problems hitting Alaska's mushing community ahead of the Iditarod. The Anchorage Daily News' Tegan Hanlon and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes sit down with host Casey Grove to discuss the whirlwind of recent news, including a doping scandal, musher mutiny, and increasing pressure from animal rights groups.

According to a fire marshal, a parent and two children were found dead in a fire in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood early Friday. Listen now

A bill to legalize the production of industrial hemp has made its way through both the Alaska House and Senate and now awaits the governor's pen. Listen now

In Episode 1, we take a look back at the 2017 Iditarod and hear some of the boots-on-the-ground perspective on Mitch Seavey's record-breaking speed, the physical toll on his son Dallas Seavey and more from our reporters on the trail: Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes and Ben Matheson, who was working for Nome radio station KNOM.

The owner of Alaska's largest newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, is purchasing three other publications. Listen now

An attorney for four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey released a toxicology report Wednesday that he says proves the musher did not drug his dogs in last year's race. Listen now

The Iditarod Official Finisher's Club called for the immediate resignation of Iditarod Board President Andy Baker. The club's letter to the board said Baker has "jeopardized the integrity of our whole livelihood through his poor leadership." Listen now

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce says it opposes a controversial voter initiative that seeks to limit who can enter bathrooms and other spaces, like locker rooms, based on a person's biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity. Listen now

A jury has convicted a Wasilla man in the fatal 2016 shooting of an Alaska State Trooper dog, the first to be killed in the line of duty. Listen now

Alaska has seen an upward trend in crime in recent years. At the same time, the Department of Law's Criminal Division has been hit with deep budget cuts. Now, prosecutors are making the case for rebuilding their capacity so they can hold more criminal offenders accountable. Listen now