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 […]
Iditarod
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Mansfield native Matthew Failor ready ‘to pull the hook and go’ at 2025 Iditarod
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 […]
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News Man Weekly bonus episode: Mansfield native talks all things Iditarod
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, […]
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Mansfield musher Matt Failor not convinced Iditarod needed to change route
WILLOW, Alaska — Matthew Failor isn’t convinced the Iditarod needed to change its path across Alaska this year. The Iditarod Trail Committee announced Monday it had made the “difficult but necessary” decision to move the official restart of the 2025 race to Fairbanks, about 290 miles north of the normal restart in Willow, due to […]
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Training races complete: Mansfield native Matthew Failor set for Iditarod
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, […]
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Theo stays up late to greet daddy Matthew Failor at Kusko 300 finish
BETHEL, Alaska – Theo Failor stayed up late Saturday night to welcome daddy home. The 19-month-old was waiting at the Kuskokwim 300 finish line with his mom, Liz, when Mansfield native Matthew Failor crossed the finish line on Sunday morning, just after 4 a.m. AKST. The 42-year-old St. Peter’s High School graduate finished in eighth […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Mansfield native preps for Iditarod with Copper Basin 300 ‘training run’ in Alaska
GLENALLEN, Alaska — Mansfield native Matthew Failor took his sled dog team on a 300-mile training run and camping trip over the weekend. It just happened to be during the 2025 Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race, finishing 22nd out of 30 teams during unseasonably warm temperatures. During an interview with Richland Source last week, […]
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News Man Weekly: Mansfield police on the hunt for a brutal, cold-case killer
MANSFIELD — The 29th episode of the News Man Weekly podcast has dropped. In this week’s edition, part of a special two-part episode, Richland Source City Editor Carl Hunnell talks about how a 43-year-old Mansfield murder mystery was recently solved. He is joined by Mansfield police chief Jason Bammann, Detective Terry Butler and DNA expert […]