Indigenous dog mushers have strong historical and cultural ties to the Iditarod. This year, two of the top contenders are Alaska Native former champions, and three of the rookies are also Indigenous.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation announced that Dan Winkleman will be leaving and named an interim leader.

The funds come after the U.S. Secretary of Commerce declared a disaster for the 2021 subsistence fishery and set aside roughly $570,000. Eligible households are those whose ability to access subsistence salmon from the Kuskokwim River drainage was impacted as a direct or indirect result of the fishery disaster.

Nicholas Tucker Jr., 49, has been convicted of felony assault and sentenced to serve 12 and a half years in jail for the July 2025 incident in which the girl lost her arm.

The Aleutians East Borough is asking the state to investigate whether a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries acted ethically during a vote on restrictions to the Area M salmon fishery. Borough Mayor Alvin Osterback and representatives from several tribes in the region say they filed a complaint with the Alaska Department of Law on Feb. 23. They say a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries had a conflict of interest when he cast a tie-breaking vote last month in favor of restricting the Area M fishery.

This weekend, Kaiser will embark on the 1,000-mile trek from Willow to Nome for the 54th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

After Richard Pitka pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a Bethel judge sentenced him to 20 years in jail, with five years suspended for the shooting and killing of Russian Mission resident Patrick Changsak in his home.

State drug investigators arrested 25-year-old Krista Waskey at a home in Bethel after she allegedly retrieved a package they had planted an electronic monitoring device inside of. Police said a second suspect, 49-year-old Renardo Stewart, escaped through a second-story window.

Jeron Joseph’s "Sacred Ground" exhibit opens at the Anchorage Museum this week.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the death of a crabber who fell overboard near Dutch Harbor last week.