Iditarod

ll news stories about the Iditarod or mushing in general are categorized “Iditarod.”

A musher in the snow with a yellow parka drives a team of dogs

This year’s Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest?

With just 33 teams in this year’s Iditarod, many are questioning how the organization can keep attracting mushers to the expensive sport.

Iditapod: Anchorage ceremonial start and the trail-side parties

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.

Meet Sean Underwood, the musher who found out last week he’d be racing the 2020 Iditarod

Four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King tapped Underwood, a 28-year-old from Atlanta, to take over his sled dog team after he had emergency surgery.

Iditapod: This year’s race

We talk about trail conditions, which teams look like contenders for the Top 10, our Rookie Of The Year Picks, and the best ways to follow the race. Also, a quick intro to our team on the trail.
A man with curly hair in a parka with a fur ruff

Eddie Burke Jr. wins Iditarod Rookie of the Year

The former amateur boxer and garbage truck driver had the best rookie finish since Jessie Holmes in 2018, finishing in seventh place.
Jeff King in Ruby. (Photo by Zachariah Hughes/KSKA)

How chefs cook wilderness gourmet on the Iditarod Trail

One of Jeff King’s prizes for reaching the Yukon River in Ruby before anyone else was a five-course meal supplied by on of the Iditarod’s sponsors. And as Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes reports, the meal might mean more to the chefs than it does for the musher.
a dog on a leash looks to the side

Senior, who’s so good he got a new name

Hunter Keefe’s dog Senior brings years of Iditarod experience to his musher’s rookie run.
A musher in a red jacket pushes off his sled.

Jessie Holmes wins Iditarod’s First Musher to the Yukon Award

His award included a five-course gourmet meal prepared by the executive chef at Marx Bros. Cafe, Jack Amon.
A white man with glasses and a beard holds a black and orangish dog

Stealie, the unexpected leader who never looked back

In our first daily Iditarod dog profile, we bring you Stealie, rookie Eric Kelly's main leader.

Iditarod Leaders Pull Into Manley Hot Springs

Girdwood's Nicolas Petit pulled into Manley Hot Springs just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, with Martin Buser, Hugh Neff, DeeDee Jonrowe and Aaron Burmeister less than two hours behind. The competition in this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race can only be described as stiff. There are six returning champions and a handful of other mushers vying for a top-10 finish. But, mushers are all feeling a little new to the race as they travel down an unfamiliar, rerouted trail. Download Audio

Aliy Zirkle takes lead en route to Galena

Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle was the second musher out of Ruby early this morning, but she overtook Brent Sass a short ways down the trail. Both are on the move toward Galena - a 50-mile run down the Yukon River - with 15 dogs in harness.

Mackey’s On His Way To Yet Another Comeback

An early season win for Four-time Yukon Quest and Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey has the Fairbanks musher in good spirits. Mackey says his kennel is once again living up to its name and making a ‘Comeback.’
A woman lies in straw behind a dog sled and in front of a team of dogs

Photos: After mud and moguls, Iditarod teams recover in Nikolai

Mushers slept. Dogs slept. And sled repairs got underway.

Zirkle first musher into Galena, Sass first to leave

Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle was the second musher out of Ruby early this [Friday] morning, but was the first to reach Galena, checking in at 10:46 a.m.
two dogs next to each other, attached to a dog team

Mach 10, mastering the art of slowing down

Iditarod musher Matthew Failor is excited that his leader Mach 10 has picked up a new skill: the art of the trot.

Top ten mushers finish in Nome

The top ten teams have arrived in Nome, filling out the upper ranks of the 2017 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Listen now
A musher sleds below a spruce tree covered mountain. Dogs are in orange vests

Iditapod: Iditarod CEO says ‘things can change minute by minute’

While Iditarod sled dog teams continue to mush toward the coast, the Iditapod is at home hiding under a table, in a makeshift recording studio. But we still have a report from the trail about how the mushers are learning about changes at checkpoints due to concern from coronavirus. Also in this episode: How Jessie Royer's sled caught fire, an interview with Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach, Snack Attack with Ben and Zach is back and much more (including a dog profile).
A dog team outside

Aaron Burmeister is stepping away from competitive mushing

Burmeister has been competing in the Iditarod since his rookie run in 1994, when he was rookie of the year.

Zirkle Out of Kaltag with Iditarod Lead

Aliy Zirkle continued her quest to become the first woman in more than two decades to win the Iditarod. She spent much of Saturday afternoon in Kaltag resting her team almost six hours. She left Kaltag with 12 dogs shortly before 5 pm and raced towards Unalakleet where the temperature already was minus nine degrees.