FAIRBANKS — As the sun began to rise over the frozen Tanana River on Saturday, competitors made their way to the start of Alaska’s newest sled dog race, the Tanana Valley Sled Dog Races, or T-Dog.

Fairbanks experienced an unusual increase in temperatures in January, reported to be “40 degrees higher than is normally seen at this time of year," according to Alaska’s News Source.

Sled dogs mushed by Jeff Deeter (33), of Fairbanks, Alaska, run during the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska., Saturday, March 1, 2025. Credit: AP/Amanda Loman ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Jessie Holmes, a former reality television star, won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Friday, celebrating with fist pumps to a cheering crowd and posing ...

Dog teams were supplanted by snowmobiles in the 1960s, but interest was growing to honor Alaska’s traditions as the 100th anniversary of its purchase by the U.S. from Russia neared in 1967.

Iditarod FILE - Jessie Holmes (15), of Alabama, mushes down Fourth Street during the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska., Saturday, March 1, 2025.