A Profile of Takotna, an Iditarod Town Whether the Mushers Are There or Not
![A mid-afternoon, snowy landscape of Takotna checkpoint and the surrounding, mountainous countryside.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180308-Sun-shines-on-dog-teams-resting-in-Takotna-DH-1200x734.jpg)
In a remote checkpoint like Takotna, the influence of the Iditarod is felt not only for a few days each March but, rather, throughout the whole year — even in the handful of years, like 2017, when the Last Great Race didn’t come to town at all.
Iditarod Musher Chases Off Bison With Ax
![Two bison, an adult and calf, stand against a snowy landscape.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Bison-in-Winter-public-domain-Pixabay-1200x900.jpg)
Running the Iditarod requires a good team of dogs, plus perseverance, strategy, strength, and at least a little bit of luck. And, sometimes, an ax helps, too.
Nome’s Philip Hofstetter in Second Position in Human-Powered Race Across Alaska
![Aerial view of Nome in winter](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/04142017-Matheson-Nome-The-final-stop-in-the-Iditarod-Trail-Sled-Dog-Race-is-Nome-at-the-edge-of-the-Bering-Sea-2432px-1200x800.jpg)
It’s not only dogs: 14 human competitors are racing toward Nome on foot or bicycle in the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational.
More Women, Rough Snows Freshen Competition in 2018 Nome-Golovin Snowmachine Race
![Racers sit at long tables set up in the Armory for the official sign-up of the 2018 Nome-Golovin Snowmachine Race.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180308_193944-1200x900.jpg)
53 racers in 4 classes will speed off from the sea ice at the east end of Nome, starting at 12 noon Saturday.
Petit Out Front: Iditarod Leaders Swap Positions as Race Pivots to the Yukon
![Landscape of the remote Iditarod checkpoint](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180308-The-austere-iditarod-checkpoint-with-just-two-major-shelter-structures-and-tents-or-converted-out-buildings-set-up-for-Iditarod-1200x720.jpg)
Joar Leifseth Ulsom was the first musher to reach the Iditarod checkpoint. But he wasn’t the first to leave.