Iditarod

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

Mushers Helping Support Care for Autistic Children in Bush

Parents caring for autistic children face challenges anywhere they live, but in rural Alaska, where a child can wander into angers not faced...
A man and his dogs

Hugh Neff scratches from Iditarod halfway into the race

Neff said he was given the choice of being disqualified or scratching because of concerns from veterinarians about his dogs.

Halverson Wins Red Lantern

Photo and Story by Diana Haecker, APRN – Nome With the arrival of Ellen Halverson in Nome, the 2011 Iditarod trail sled dog...

New Mushing Magazine Owners Plan to Grow Coverage

Robert and Michele Forto will continue to publish the print magazine while expanding online offerings.

Mitch Seavey Out of Race

Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage & Anchorage Daily News Former Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey is out of the race. Race marshal Mark Nordman...
a musher putting foot ointment on their dogs outside, the dogs are wearing red coats

Iditarod teams contend with frigid temperatures and sleep deprivation heading to the coast

The mushers are adding clothing to themselves and their dogs to stay warm in subzero windchills.

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

Rick Swenson Withdraws From Iditarod

Rick Swenson won't make the trip to Nome this year. Race officaials say Swenson withdrew from the Iditarod on Thursday. Swenson, the only five-time champion in the history of the race, cited personal reasons.

Iditarod adjusts Robert Redington’s rest schedule after mistaken early release

Iditarod officials are adding 50 minutes to Wasilla musher Robert Redington’s Yukon River layover after he was inadvertently allowed to leave the Nikolai checkpoint...
a vet looks over a dog team

An angry moose and bare ground mark a brutal first quarter for Iditarod teams

Dallas Seavey recounts his moose encounter as his team rested at the checkpoint in Nikolai, about 250 miles into the 1,000-mile race.
A musher goes into a village.

Iditapod: Heartbreak for Petit as team quits on the coast

The team of Girdwood musher Nicolas Petit stalled on the edge of Norton Bay, allowing Bethel's Pete Kaiser to race past, as well as several others. Petit had been leading for most of the race, and Monday afternoon, it was still uncertain if he'd even finish. We hear from Petit, and we hear from Kaiser who now might be set up to win his first Iditarod. That, plus explanations of Mushergrams, Teacher on the Trail and... whatever happened to Pilot Rob?
A musher in the night

Iditapod: Run, rest, eat and repeat

In this episode, we hear from Iditarod mushers in the midst of their required 24-hour layovers and from our current Red Lantern musher. We also have a chat with a former top 10 musher who’s returning to the race and running a team of mostly rookie dogs, plus a look at the Iditarod's new pilot program for tracking dropped dogs. And as always we have our Dog of the Day -- not a new dog but a dog who got a new name -- and a listener question with answers from several mushers this time. (Hint: This one might make you hungry).
Dallas (left) and Mitch (right) embrace and share a few words before departing Koyuk. (Photo by Emily Schwing/KNOM)

Dallas Seavey first into White Mountain

Reigning Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey is the first musher into White Mountain. He checked in at 9.48 a.m. Monday for the mandatory 8-hour layover at the checkpoint before continuing on the final 77 miles to Nome by way of Safety.
A man stands outside in a coat with a hood.

Iditarod disqualifies former champion Brent Sass amid sex assault allegations

The Iditarod board voted unanimously on Thursday to disqualify former champion Brent Sass after allegations made in November and recent questions from Alaska Public Media, the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica. Sass has denied the claims.

King, Zirkle Leave White Mountain

Iditarod mushers Jeff King and Aliy Zirkle are on the final stretch into Nome. King left the White Mountain checkpoint after eight hours of mandatory rest at 3:02 this afternoon. Zirkle followed just under an hour later. Dallas Seavey will leave about two hours behind Zirkle and his father Mitch will leave about two hours after that. Download Audio

As Iditarod has changed, so has its relationship with its Native roots, mushers say

Fewer than ten mushers out of the 67 competing in this year’s Iditarod are Alaska Native. The only Inupiaq musher to win the Iditarod, John Baker of Kotzebue, is not racing this year, so it now falls to other competitors to bring home the championship. Listen now

Jeff King on PETA and past Iditarod protests

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA plans to protest the start of the race in Anchorage tomorrow morning. Former Iditarod champion Jeff King sat down with Lori Townsend recently to talk about the race, his career and his feelings about the animal rights activists who are against racing sled dogs. Listen now
A musher in an orange jacket

Aaron Burmeister first Iditarod musher to reach Nikolai, while Brent Sass is first to dash out

The race started Sunday in Willow. The winner is expected sometime early next week in Nome, on Alaska’s western coast.

Iditapod: A look back at the 2017 Iditarod

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.
a musher and a small child arrive to Nome

Five Indigenous mushers set to compete in 2023 Iditarod despite rising costs

First climate change and now financial worries are forcing some competitors to stay off the trail this year.