WILLOW, Alaska — Training races are complete. Drop bags with food are filled for checkpoints. In other words, the hay is largely in the barn for Mansfield native Matthew Failor and his Alaskan Husky Adventures 17th-Dog teams for the 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, the 53rd annual race across Alaska. Two members of his team, […]
Alaska
Posted inOutdoor
Iditarod is good to go: ‘Return of winter’ good news for Mansfield native musher
WILLOW, Alaska — Mansfield native Matthew Failor got the good news Friday. The mush is on for his Alaskan Husky Adventure’s 17th-Dog team. The Iditarod Trail Committee announced it intends to maintain the southern route for the 2025 edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, meaning the race will start around Willow and end […]
Posted inOutdoor
Lack of snow continues to make Iditarod preparations tough for Mansfield native
WILLOW, Alaska — How bad a winter has it been for training sled dogs in Alaska? New Orleans has gotten more snow in 2025 than Anchorage. With the nearly 1,000-mile 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race coming up in little more than a month, the unusually warm and mild Alaskan winter continues to throw curveballs at […]
Posted inWeather
Polar plunge: North central Ohio braces for below-zero temps next week
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” — Author John Rushkin Enjoy the weekend thaw, folks. With apologies to playwright Eugene O’Neill, the iceman cometh. And right fast. Cold temperatures, the likes of which north central […]
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Iditarod prep: Mansfield’s Matthew Failor to mush Saturday in Copper Basin 300
WILLOW, Alaska — Matthew Failor seriously considered not racing in the 2025 Idiatrod Sled Dog Race across Alaska. In fact, the 42-year-old Mansfield St. Peter’s graduate didn’t make it official until the last minute, officially entering the “The Last Great Race” on Dec. 2, the final day for admissions. That means Failor will launch his […]
Posted inNews
He’s back! Mansfield native Matthew Failor to launch 14th Iditarod in Alaska
WILLOW, ALASKA — Matthew Failor is headed back across Alaska in 2025. The Mansfield native will launch his 14th Iditarod effort when what’s been dubbed “The Last Great American Race” begins its 53rd campaign with a ceremonial start in Anchorage on March 1. The 42-year-old Failor made it official on Monday when he entered the […]
Posted inLife and Culture
Rarified air: Shelby twins follow father’s love for flying
Sixteen-year-old Shelby twins Landon and Charlie Eastman have taken a similar interest to flying as their father, Ben, chief pilot of Aleutian Airways.
Posted inNews
Failor talks Iditarod, life in Alaska during hometown visit
MANSFIELD — Mansfield native Matthew Failor began his live interview with a warning Thursday night. “I’m not a public speaker, I just scoop dog poop for a living,” joked Failor, an Alaskan sled dog racer. The 2000 Mansfield St. Peter’s graduate sat down with Richland Source City Editor Carl Hunnell for “An evening with Matthew […]
Posted inOutdoor
Matthew Failor honored as best sportsman from 2024 Iditarod race across Alaska
NOME, Alaska — Matthew Failor was in perfect position for another Top 10 finish in the famed Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. But the 42-year-old Mansfield native was also in perfect position to help a disconsolate young musher, who saw one of his dogs die about 650 miles into the nearly 1,000-mile race from […]
Posted inOutdoor
Mansfield native Matthew Failor nearing finish of his 12th Iditarod Sled Dog Race
Editor’s note: Richland Source is posting daily updates on Mansfield native Matthew Failor’s efforts at the 2024 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which began March 3. Updates post daily at 8 a.m. and may be updated during the day. (UPDATE: Matthew Failor crossed the finish line in Nome at 5:28 p.m. AKDT, finishing 13th among 38 […]