Emily Schwing, special to Alaska Public Media

The state reported the first case of rabies in Alaska’s interior today. A trapper killed a wolf in the Chandalar Lakes area south of the Brooks Range in late March. Download Audio

The Senior Executive Producer of a long-running and popular science documentary series on public television was in Fairbanks this week. Paula Apsell is in the Golden Heart City as part of a weekly research showcase hosted by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Download Audio

Scientists at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) discussed new regional projections for snowfall in Alaska during a webinar presentation Tuesday. Climate change could significantly change the amount of snow that hits the ground and sticks throughout the state. Download Audio

The National Park Service released its compendiums for 2013 this week. They outline this year’s designations, closures and restrictions for national parks and preserves. Some of the changes to Alaska’s compendiums this year come in response to state policies regarding predators like wolves and bears. Download Audio

In a release today, the National Park Service states the wolf population in the Yukon-Charley National Preserve has decreased by 50 percent since last fall. The Park Service says the decline “coincides with predator control efforts by Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted near the preserve.” Download Audio

The Air Force has grounded the 18th Aggressor Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base due to federal budget restrictions. The Squadron of F-16s is the same one the Air Force has considered relocating to Joint Base Elemendorf Richardson near Anchorage.

The Iditarod Race Marshall is calling the death of a dropped dog in Unalakleet this year one of the worst tragedies in the race’s history. The Iditarod Trail committee has since launched an investigation into what happened. They’re working with the dog’s owner to develop better dog care standards for the future. Download Audio

On March 15, volunteers with the Iditarod Trail Committee discovered a five-year-old husky had been buried and asphyxiated by drifting snow in Unalakleet. Wednesday, ITC released the results of an investigation into the death. Download Audio

Competition in this year’s Iditarod was nothing less than fierce, and the racing didn’t quite until the finish line. The race for first and second place was close in this year’s Iditarod, but there were three other races among top twenty finishers that were even closer.

The top teams in this year’s Iditarod likely won’t be decided until they cross under the burled arch in Nome. That’s because teams have spent the last quarter of the race, if not the last 900 miles leap frogging each other as they travel down the trail.

Mitch Seavey is back in the Iditarod lead. He passed Jeff King halfway through the run from Koyuk to Elim along the Bering Sea Coast. King surprised everyone by speeding through the Koyuk checkpoint at 8:20 this morning, stopping less than six minutes. That put him out front for most of the day. Mitch Seavey left the checkpoint three hours after King. Aliy Zirkle, Ray Redding Jr and Aaron Burmeister followed a few hours later. APRN trail reporter Emily Schwing is in Koyuk. She says King’s dogs looked good when they passed through the checkpoint.

With a climb through the Alaska Range and a run down the Yukon River now behind them, Iditarod mushers have only to tackle the Bering Sea coast before they cross the finish line in Nome. But there’s still a third of the race to go. Overnight, the front-runners left Kaltag for Unalakleet. It’s the longest run of the race. KUAC’s Emily Schwing caught up before they set off.

Iditarod mushers running outside of this year’s top-20 are just as competitive as the front of the pack, but they have different reasons for travelling the trail.