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ANCHORAGE (KTUU0 - Rookie Iditarod musher Quince Mountain's time on the Iditarod trail has come to an end. Race marshal Mark Nordman made the call around 11:38 a.m. to withdraw Mountain from the race at the Unalakleet checkpoint. Nordman made the decision based on rule 36 of the official Iditarod race rules regarding competitiveness. Rule 36 -- Competitiveness: A team may be withdrawn that is out of the competition and is not in a position to make a valid effort to compete. The Race Marshal may consider, but is not limited to, weather, trail conditions and the overall pace of...

Dog teams coming into Unalakleet for a break are hungry after long stretches on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Kelly Maixner’s team gets a steak snack several times a day to keep them fat and happy. “New York strips it looks like. I’ve gotten cases of New York strips and rib-eyes from Three Bears," he said. "Ray Redington taught me that trick." Iditarod veterinarians estimate the canine competitors burn up to 12,000 calories a day. Jeff Deeter of Fairbanks said mushers have a strategy on how to get those calories back into the dogs during the race. “I like...

There was a noticeably different vibe at the finish line of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as spectators waited for winner Thomas Waerner. “It’s very quiet. You don’t feel the energy as much just because everyone is not crowding around and able to cheer them in,” said Samantha Robler, who’s lived in Nome for three years. Because of concerns about the novel coronavirus, the City of Nome canceled Iditarod-related activities and urged people not to come into town. Still, a few hundred people ended up lining Front Street as the Norwegian musher crossed under the burled arch. Robler...

Thomas Waerner, a 46-year-old Norwegian, has claimed his first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race victory. Waerner made the winner's march up Front Street and arrived at the famed burled arch Wednesday at 12:37 a.m. with 10 dogs. He finished the race in 9 days, 10 hours and 37 minutes. Waerner was a clear leader early on in the race. The only true mystery was how big the margin of victory would be. He took hold of the race in Unalakleet, putting the rearview mirror and the rest of the field away. As far back as Cripple, 550 miles from Nome,...

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Veteran Iditarod musher Aaron Peck, wearing bib no. 36 scratched at the Shaktoolik checkpoint Monday afternoon. According to the Iditarod's public relations team, Peck scratched at the Shaktoolik checkpoint - which was relocated to Old Shaktoolik - at around 3:50 p.m. Peck, of Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada, reportedly made the decision to scratch "in the best interest of his race team." He and his dogs will be flown back to the Unalakleet checkpoint.

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - UPDATE: 3/17, 11:26 a.m. Veteran Iditarod mushers Anna Berington and Kristy Berington have both scratched at the Unalakleet checkpoint. The Beringtons made the decision to scratch due to a death in the family and for the good of their race team. Anna Berington had eight dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch. Kristy Berington had 10 dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch. Original Story Veteran Iditarod musher Larry Daugherty scratched at 12:42 a.m. Tuesday at the Kaltag checkpoint. Daugherty had 13 dogs in harness at the...

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Veteran musher Richie Diehl, of Aniak, scratched from the 48th running of the Iditarod after deciding to leave the race at the Unalakleet checkpoint on Monday. Diehl, wearing bib no. 16, was consistently on the top-ten leaderboard throughout the duration of the race thus far. He was in as high as second place starting with the McGrath checkpoint, but had dropped to 23rd at the time of his departure, which came after a nearly 12-hour rest in Nulato and a seven-hour break in Kaltag ahead of arriving to the coast. Veteran musher and special correspondent DeeDee Jonrowe...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has lost another major sponsor. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles confirmed Monday that the Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership in Anchorage will no longer sponsor the race. The independently owned and operated dealership has been a core race supporter for 30 years, and annually presents the winner with a new pickup at the finish line in Nome. Dealership spokesman Chuck Talsky says as a franchisee, they are subject to various controls. The announcement came as mushers enter the final stretch of the race. Leader Thomas Waerner was the first musher to...

NCHORAGE (KTUU) - Update: 3/16, 10:46 a.m. Waerner is the first to check into Koyuk. He checked in at 9:30 a.m. Original Story Norwegian musher Thomas Waerner is currently in the lead to the Koyuk Checkpoint.

Raymie Redington, 75, has three children who have run the Iditarod, which is a pretty great track record. But his dog Bison, 8, definitely has him beat. Bison is one of Alaska’s most popular stud dogs, with litters of pups in at least 12 Iditarod mushers’ kennels, including those of three former champions. Several of his pups are running in this year’s race, Redington said. How did this dashingly handsome athlete — “all heart,” as Redington called him — become mushing’s most eligible bachelor? The answer is a combination of genes, timing, a sportwide trend toward traditionalism and a very...

<p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Deep snow is slowing down mushers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but the leader has a secret for dealing with the difficult conditions.</p> <p>“I’ve been training with 120 pounds of concrete and all the gear in the sled,” Thomas Waerner, 46, told a camera crew from the Iditarod Insider as he was preparing his sled to leave a checkpoint outside the Alaska community of Kaltag late Saturday.</p>

On Friday, the Iditarod announced that mushers would not be stopping in the village of Shaktoolik, a key source of shelter along the notoriously stormy Norton Sound, and would instead pick up their drop bags and straw at a hospitality stop outside town — without shelter, water, food or volunteers. The village had voted that, in light of the spread of COVID-19, they didn’t want outsiders coming in at this time. They have to protect their elders, and other vulnerable people, from the risk of infection. The decision was not made lightly. A century ago, the Spanish influenza epidemic left...

Iditarod - a song parody If Brian Wilson and Mike Love had written a song about the annual 1000-mile dogsled race in Alaska, it may have sounded like this. Massive apologies to the Beach Boys!

Alaska's governor announced the first case of the novel coronavirus in the state Thursday evening. Officials say the "presumptive positive" test will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. Meanwhile, state and federal agencies and organizations have begun canceling classes, extending spring breaks, postponing events and more out of concern over the spread of the virus which causes COVID-19. Here is a list of the latest announcements, updated several times daily: Know of a closure, cancellation or resource not on this list? Let us know at newstips@ktva.com. SCHOOLS * Alaska K-12 public schools: On March...

Here are five things to know on Sunday, Day 8 of the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: 1. Race Outlook: Weather & checkpoint changes present new obstacles Weather and checkpoint changes are obstacles facing mushers on the trail. Snow and warm temperatures are slowing every team down, while changes in checkpoint availability due to concerns over the novel coronavirus are forcing some mushers to deviate from their race plans. As for leaders, the coast is still between their teams and Nome. It's not time for bold moves yet. Front-runners just want to stay within striking distance. 2. Race Forecast:...

Under steady snowfall at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart in Willow last Sunday, veteran musher Matthew Failor's dog, Cool Cat, snuggled inside his warm trailer. "She's kind of my spirit animal," Failor said, before giving her a pre-race kiss. He said he was excited about racing to Nome with Cool Cat this year. He wanted to bring her last year, but she was pregnant with a litter of puppies during the 2019 Iditarod. At 9 years old, Failor said Cool Cat is the "matriarch" of his kennel. She's a good lead dog, but she's also like a pet...

Two Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers have scratched at the Galena checkpoint. Veteran musher Linwood Fiedler, of Willow, scratched at 1 p.m. Saturday. Rookie musher Martin Massicotte, of Canada, scratched at 5:58 p.m. A release from the Iditarod said both mushers chose to scratch in the best interest of their race teams. At the checkpoint, Fiedler told KTVA's Heather Hintze that there were cascading issues with his team's health. Massicotte said the weather was too warm. Fiedler had 14 dogs in harness when he decided to scratch, while Massicotte had nine. As of Saturday evening, six mushers have scratched...

When mushers arrive in Ruby, it marks the beginning of the journey on the Yukon River. The first musher to reach that milestone is treated to a five-course meal and other prizes. Jessie Royer won that award and shared her meal with other front-runners.

CRIPPLE — As the world grapples with whatever new reality the coronavirus is bringing, a few dozen people racing through Alaska’s Interior find themselves insulated from the chaos. They’re the mushers competing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. As they mushed along, watching for moose and changing out dog booties, professional sports leagues suspended seasons, gatherings of even a few hundred people were banned in some of the country’s most populated cities. The stock market took a historic dive. Yet, on the Iditarod Trail, you’d have no idea. In Takotna on Wednesday night, people weren’t huddled around a TV...

NIKOLAI — Most mushers plan for a year, at least, to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. John Schandelmeier had an hour. Schandelmeier said Wednesday morning in the frigid cold at the Nikolai checkpoint that he no longer has the burning desire to race sled dogs. To him, there would be no difference in finishing or winning the Red Lantern, the prize for the last musher to cross the finish line in Nome. Schandelmeier was a last-minute substitute for his wife, Zoya DeNure, who withdrew from the race just before the restart in Willow because of a heart condition....