Iditarod 2025

Editor’s note: Richland Source is posting daily updates on Mansfield native Matthew Failor’s efforts at the 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which began March 3. Updates post daily at 7 a.m. and may be updated during the day. This exclusive coverage is made possible through the support of St. Peter’s School. (UPDATE: Iditarod musher and […]

ON THE IDITAROD TRAIL, Alaska — Jim Davis is back on his beloved Iditarod trail this week, seven months after his death. Mansfield native Matthew Failor took some of his old friend’s ashes with him when the 1,128-mile race began Monday, from Fairbanks to Nome. Davis, 75, is a resident of Fishhook, Alaska. He died […]

(Update: Matthew Failor left the Tanana checkpoint Thursday at 2:21 am AKST, having left one dog behind to be transported home. He continued his journey with 15 dogs on his team.) MANSFIELD — No one can say Matthew Failor didn’t warn them about the dangers of racing hundreds of miles along a frozen river in […]

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Some have compared the re-routed 2025 Iditarod trail to a race track, including the first 600 miles on the frozen Yukon River. Some mushers have spoken about listening to audiobooks on the trail to stifle boredom and help keep them awake as the sleds slide easily across hard-packed, wide and icy river […]

Community cheers on Matthew Failor in his Iditarod quest. Join the support and follow his race to Nome!

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Matthew Failor is taking an old friend with him on the 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race across Alaska. The 42-year-old Mansfield native will have the ashes of former Iditarod racer and long-time race judge Jim Davis aboard his Alaskan Husky Adventures sled when the official restart takes place Monday in Fairbanks. The […]

WILLOW, Alaska — Matthew Failor may never win an Iditarod. He may never be the first musher to cross under the famed burled arch in Nome, celebrated as the best dog sled musher in Alaska after racing 1,000 miles across the massive 49th state. But don’t be mistaken. Winning is the Mansfield native’s dream. Under […]

WILLOW, Alaska — Matt Failor can’t wait for the stress of an 1,100-mile sled Iditarod dog race across Alaska. That’s where the 42-year-old Mansfield native finds his calm after the storm once the race actually begins, launching his 14th journey in what’s been dubbed “The Last Great Race.” “Obviously, there’s pressure during the race, but […]

WILLOW, Alaska — It’s a bonus episode of the News Man Weekly podcast — an audio primer to prepare to follow Mansfield native Matthew Failor in the 2025 Iditarod Sled Dog Race across Alaska. Richland Source Deputy Managing Editor Carl Hunnell is joined by Failor on a phone connection from his home in Willow Alaska, […]