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The Iditarod is trying to track down two mushers who shared a tent with Gunnar Johnson and may have been exposed to the virus.

The vote was just procedural but it clears the way for a final vote Monday.

Alaska Public Media's Tegan Hanlon talks with four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey in February in the dog lot at his Talkeetna-based kennel. Seavey is back in the Iditarod this year after taking three years off following a scandal in 2017's race, after which the Iditarod said two of Seavey's dogs had tested positive for a banned pain-reliever, then later cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives had prepared a resolution that would have blocked the order, which would have led to two departments: a Department of Health and a Department of Family Services.

Reinbold hasn’t followed requirements to wear a face mask and to undergo the COVID-19 rapid tests and temperature screenings required of everyone entering the Capitol.

It's the first bilateral meetings between the two superpowers, and Sen. Dan Sullivan said the venue was a nod to Alaska's strategic location between Asia and the United States.

With a new emergency order in place this week, Anchorage restaurants are allowed to open at full capacity, as long as they maintain social distancing and masking requirements. While this seems like good news, some restaurants are still frustrated by the remaining restrictions and others are concerned that more customer interaction could lead to increased COVID-19 transmission.

The race director has chopped about 20 miles off this year's trail because of too much snow. Also, another musher has dropped out of the competition.

Health officials say they’ve discovered more Alaska cases of the P.1 variant of the coronavirus that’s devastated Brazil — suggesting that the mutant strain, which is likely more contagious and capable of reinfecting people previously sick with COVID-19, is getting a growing foothold in the state.

Rep. Gary Knopp had impaired vision caused by glaucoma when his private plane collided with a charter plane last summer, according to a medical report released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Anchorage Assembly rejected another motion to throw out the city’s emergency proclamation at a meeting on Tuesday evening. The city has been under an emergency proclamation since the pandemic began last March. It is currently set to expire next month unless the Assembly votes to extend it for the eighth time.

Bean's Cafe is moving to pre-packaged meals in order to avoid large gatherings for mealtimes, and to provide clients flexibility to look for work throughout the day.

We rejoin the Iditarod something like 48 hours in, and, on what sounds like a hard and fast trail, mushers are pacing themselves for the shorter 850-mile race. There've been a total of three scratches so far, none bigger than Aliy Zirkle, who suffered a concussion and upper body injury in the Dalzell Gorge and had to be flown out of Rohn by helicopter. Also, we catch up with our pal Zachariah Hughes in McGrath.

Alaska will become the first state in the country to open COVID-19 vaccinations to anyone 16 and older, officials announced Tuesday, capping a swift rollout of the shots that’s capitalized on tens of thousands of extra doses shipped to and administered by tribal health care providers.

The Alaska Outdoor Council banquet on Feb. 20 in Palmer was attended by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and state Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok. Both tested positive for COVID-19 days later, on Feb. 24, though it’s not clear whether either of them became infected at the event.

Aliy Zirkle's race ended Monday night after she crashed on her way into the remote Rohn checkpoint. Race officials say she suffered a concussion and other injuries.

For Dallas Seavey’s first-place arrival, he won mittens made of beaver fur and moose hide, plus a beaver-fur hat. McGrath is roughly a third of the way into the race.

After months of tight vaccine supply, the state of Alaska last week made a massive expansion of the groups eligible for shots. But it’s not clear that the expanded criteria are fully registering with Alaskans yet, public health officials said at a briefing for reporters Monday.

Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch received Sundance's Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for "On the Count of Three," a dark comedy directed by and starring Jerrod Carmichael.

Ben Stevens’ last day in the governor’s office was Friday, Feb. 26, and he started work as vice president of external affairs and transportation at ConocoPhillips the following Monday.