Iditarod

That’s right: Iditarod has a new champion. And it’s really looking like we’re going to have three women in the top 10 for the first time in 47 years for the Last Great Race. As for the pride and swelling hearts of Bethel, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, maybe all of Western Alaska, Peter Kaiser and eight dogs crossed under the Burled Arch in Nome at 3:39 a.m. Alaska time Wednesday trailed only 12 minutes later by the 2018 champ, Joar Leifseth Ulsom.

More mushers, including rookie Nicolas Petit, have reached Nome in the 2011 Iditarod. He finished in 28th place, arriving in Nome early Thursday morning...

As dogs teams drop onto the Yukon River, Iditarod mushers will find out how their race plans are playing out. The next 140 miles of long, flat river will shine some light on who has the most speed and who needs a little more rest. No one is quite sure exactly what’s going on with race strategies this year. In fact even the most experienced mushers are scratching their heads.

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.

Hundreds of race fans lined the chute on Willow Lake to send off one of the largest fields in years under warm March sunlight.

For being first to the coast on Sunday, Thomas Waerner earned $2,000 worth of gold nuggets. But, more importantly, he was in a full five hours in front of the next team.

The 42nd annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race is underway. Dog teams left Willow Sunday. They’re making their way toward the Alaska Range, where the trail is reportedly extremely rough.

Coinciding with the Iditarod sled dog race, Unalakleet issued an emergency ordinance to address loose dogs running free around the community. Many residents complained about a problem, and not everyone is happy with the solution.

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

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.

George, a 4-year-old on Hunter Keefe’s team, collapsed on the way to Unalakleet, race officials say.

The village of Nikolai was bustling all day as dog teams pulled in and out of the sixth checkpoint on the Iditarod trail. After teams have passed over some of the roughest trail, the race reaches a turning point. From here, mushers will evaluate their dogs as they try to decide how best to execute a their race plans. Download Audio

The Iditarod trail continued to claim victims through Tuesday. Reports of everything from broken ankles to broken hands came filtering back from Rohn and Nikolai. It will take a combination of resilience and persistence for mushers to keep moving down the trail.

Eddie Burke Jr.’s 5-year-old leader already has an impressive racing resume, but it’s only his first Iditarod.

It’s a close race between Ryan Redington, Richie Diehl and Pete Kaiser.

Meet Dusty, a leader on Iditarod rookie Jennifer LaBar’s team.