Programs

In this extended interview from before the 2022 Iditarod, 22-year-old Norwegian musher Hanna Lyrek told Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen about competing in Norway's biggest sled dog race, the Finnmarksløpet, how she got her dog team to Alaska, her goals for the Iditarod and... about her dogs, of course!

Well, we’ve got a race, folks. Obviously, with 45 mushers out on the Iditarod Trail vying for positions, we’ve got a race. But at the very front, it’s looking like a real battle setting up between Brent Sass and Dallas Seavey for first place. As the frontrunners head for the Bering Sea coast, we’ll have a look at the teams reaching the Yukon River, we’ll talk about a pretty big scratch, women mushers, a bit about superstition, and of course we have a dog profile and a listener question.

Advocates celebrate a federal bill that allows Alaska tribal courts to have more power. Also, how rising oil prices affect gas, groceries and everything else. And commercial and subsistence fishermen debate Sitka herring management.

In order to make decisions and judgements, the human mind uses cognitive shortcuts. Dr. Michael Scheeringa, author of “The Trouble With Trauma: The Search To Discover How Beliefs Become Facts", explores why that's an issue.

Will cases spike in coming weeks? What do Alaskans need to know to help keep infection rates down? Alaska’s top doctors help to clarify the way forward.

With the northern lights dancing above, we talked to Iditarod leader Brent Sass as he danced through the Ruby checkpoint and onto the Yukon River, skipping a gourmet five-course meal in favor of more comfortable cold temperatures for his dogs. We'll also hear more from Sass and his fellow competitors on their 24-hour layover earlier, and from the back of the pack, a trio of women, who banded together in a snow storm. Plus we have a dog profile and THREE listeners asking the same question, with an answer straight from the musher in question and a separate listener... answer?

onomic Development Corporation's 2022 economic forecast luncheon. AEDC president and CEO Bill Popp gives an update on how the Anchorage economy has changed since last year and presents the results of employment, housing and business reports.

Alaska could increase funding for its schools, but some leaders say it's not enough. Plus, after 100 years, historians correct a key detail about Alaska's flag designer. And many Iditarod teams take their 24-hour breaks and reflect on the race so far.

Iditarod mushers and their dog teams are now either in the middle of their mandatory 24-hour layovers or back out on the trail, if they opted to do that earlier. We've got the frontrunners at the Cripple checkpoint, as well as a chat with the folks who 24ed in McGrath, now making up the chase pack. There's also an old-timer for our Dog of the Day, a couple listener questions about how to get into dog mushing and, related, what it means to be a handler.

On this Outdoor Explorer, we’ll have a conversation about regenerative tourism. It’s a concept that has been around for a while but is gaining traction around the world, driven by indigenous communities and other protectors of our wild spaces. Our guests, Mary Goddard, Lee Hart, Sarah Leonard are out to make Alaska the world leader in regenerative tourism.

Kaktovik dog musher Apayauq Reitan, the first out trans woman to compete in the Iditarod, talks to Iditapod colleague and Alaska Public Media contributor Shady Grove Oliver - originally for a piece in the Guardian newspaper - about Reitan's goals for this year's race, what it's like to mush dogs, her Alaska Native culture, coming out as trans and a lot more.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy criticizes the Biden administration's handling of proposed oil and mining projects. Also, Hilcorp pays fines after delaying reports of potential gas leaks. And students in Anchorage learn carpentry skills and explore a new career path.

Amelia Simeonoff helps others heal their traumas with ancient Indigenous practices.

Our Iditapod crew gets caught up - to get you caught up - as sled dog teams in the 2022 Iditarod race through the third full day of mushing the 1,000-mile trail. We'll hear about some of the most technically difficult sections and get an update on who is where... for now. We'll also hear from mushers Aaron Burmeister and Apayauq Reitan, among others, and we also have a bully of a Dog of the Day and a listener question about how to find the trail (because sometimes it's not so obvious).

Legislators consider renaming the Glenn Highway. Also, hospital officials look toward a return to normalcy following the omicron wave. And opponents of a state bill banning transgender athletes from girls' sports teams say much more is at stake.

Running the Iditarod takes months of preparation, training and a lot of money. While some mushers have major tour businesses and sponsors that help fund their kennels and pay for staff, Radano waits tables to help balance the big bills that come with being a dog musher.

Editor's note: This extended interview discusses a violent encounter with a moose and might not be suitable for all listeners. Alaska Public Media's Lex Treinen gets all the details of rookie Iditarod musher Bridgett Watkins' run-in with a moose while on a training run near Salcha, in Interior Alaska, in early February.

A new bill aims to help retain village public safety officers in rural Alaska. Also, the state's Board of Game could change requirements for beaver traps. And the legal dispute over a toddler's burial place comes to a close in tribal court.

As Alaska Public Media reporters Jeff Chen and Lex Treinen head out on the trail, Iditapod host Casey Grove updates some of the early Iditarod standings. Plus, we have a story of an ER nurse whose training for the Iditarod helped him cope with the trauma of working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Lex also brings us a report on the Sunday restart in Willow, as well as another dog profile, and we have a couple questions with a couple different answers (watch out: one involves some math).

The 2022 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicked off Saturday in Anchorage with its usual fanfare, after not holding a ceremonial start in 2021. Alaska Public Media reporters Casey Grove, Tegan Hanlon, Lex Treinen and Jeff Chen were out in the snow with the mushers, dogs and race fans, including plenty of kids and other trailgaters.