Chugiak

Thirteen rookies will hit the trail this weekend for the 1000 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. They are an international bunch, hailing from Norway, Russia and even Brazil. Eight call Alaska home, including musher Christine Roalofs who keeps 22 dogs in a barn in her backyard in east Anchorage. Roalofs is a pediatric dentist who fell in love with the idea of racing the Iditarod when she moved to Alaska more than a decade ago.

Glenn Highway the on and off-ramps leading to Fort Richardson are closed at this hour, as Anchorage Police deal with a suicide attempt at Fort Richardson. APD spokesperson Marlene Lammers says a caller alerted police to the situation at 6:15 am. APD officers are on site, along with a SWAT team negotiator and a K-9 team. Lammers says a young man is threatening suicide. It was the man's father who made the call.

There were two vehicle crashes on the Sterling Highway Friday that took four lives. There were two vehicle crashes on the Sterling Highway Friday that took four lives.

At about 10:15 this morning Anchorage police responded to a plane crash near the Birchwood Airport in the Chugiak area. All five people aboard were killed.