Davis Hovey

Two snow machiners awaiting their restart time at night time.

The frontrunners in this year’s Iron Dog have started departing Kotzebue after taking an overnight stay in that checkpoint. Leaders Brad George and Robby Schachle left at 6am followed by Brett Lapham and Zack Weisz less than a minute later.

A healthcare worker administering the Covid vaccine to a patient..

Based on Norton Sound Health Corporation’s latest data, just under 7,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the Norton Sound.

The top six teams in this year’s Iron Dog all departed Nome by 9am this morning for the race restart. They now head to Kotzebue with more than 1,300 miles left to go before reaching the finish line in Big Lake.

All 18 Pro Class teams left in this year’s Iron Dog have reached the halfway point in Nome. The race route as well as some logistics were tweaked this year due to COVID-19, but most of the racers are adjusting well so far into the 2,600-mile race.

Richie Diehl of Aniak has won his first Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race, beating his friend and reigning champion, Pete Kaiser of Bethel by about 45 minutes.

Brothers Joseph and Israel Hale checked out of Kaltag leading the remaining field of 19 Iron Doggers this morning. The Hales are rookies to the pro class but they’re coming off their first Expedition class win in 2020.

Nome courthouse staff confirm Bradley Gene Okpealuk was arraigned this morning and his case now moves onto a trial. In-person jury trials resumed in Nome earlier this month.

Musher in heavy parka with fur ruff hugs sled dogs under finish line of the Kuskokwim 300 in Bethel, Alaska.

The mid-distance race is reverting back to a trail only used once before in 2018, when the K300 set up a 150-mile loop that mushers had to travel twice.

Two separate cases of COVID-19 have been identified in two different communities over the last two days. There are now five active cases in the Norton Sound region.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still reviewing a gold mining project proposed by IPOP LLC from last year. But as of February 1st, the company submitted another permit application to the Corps for review.