Mackey wins fourth straight Iditarod, a new record

Source: Anchorage Daily News

NOME -- Lance Mackey has won this year's Iditarod Sled Dog Race, becoming the first musher ever to win four straight. Before cheering Front Street crowds, Mackey, 39, and his team of 11 dogs passed under the burled arch at 2:59 p.m.

03/16/10 - 2:35 pm

Hootin' Newton is laughing his way to Nome

Source: Alaska Dispatch

CRIPPLE -- The man on the runners behind the Jamaican team in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race stands out wherever he goes, and it's not simply because he's the only black man in the competition. The fact is you don't even need to see Hootin' Newton Marshall to know that he is in a checkpoint -- just follow the laughter.

03/16/10 - 10:42 am

Mackey closing in on Nome, and victory

Source: Anchorage Daily News

WHITE MOUNTAIN -- Lance Mackey left here just at 4:43 a.m. today, headed for Nome in the final miles of what is looking increasingly likely to be his fourth straight Iditarod victory. In the race’s 38-year history, no other musher has accomplished the feat. And while there were 77 miles left to race, Mackey’s closest followers said only a major mishap could derail him now.

03/16/10 - 7:55 am

Rookie's dream dies hard

Source: Alaska Dispatch

RUBY -- The bad luck that haunted musher Emil Churchin for more than 500 miles north along the Iditarod Trail finally caught him four miles shy of the Yukon River. His Iditarod dream died there in the dark Sunday night, although the painful realization that his race was over would not come until after yet another night spent camped along the trail in the 40-degree-below-zero cold that brutalizes both dogs and people.

03/16/10 - 7:54 am

Stevens changes position on gas line

Source: KTUU.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Former Sen. Ted Stevens' speech to Commonwealth North was on Friday, but it's still the talk of the town in Juneau. Stevens called on the state to set aside plans to build a pipeline to the Lower 48 and to focus exclusively on an in-state gas line. The former Senator sent shock waves across the state. After years and years of working in the U.S. Senate to get loan guarantees for a pipeline to the Lower 48, he no longer supports that pipeline.

03/16/10 - 7:53 am