Loren Holmes

Our favorite photos from the 2025 Mount Marathon Race

Photos: Racers enjoyed sunny skies and an enthusiastic crowd during the 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race in Seward on Friday. www.adn.com/visual/photo...

David Norris greets fans as he runs down 4th Avenue during the 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Seward. Norris won his 6th Mount Marathon Race this year.

Mya Taylor makes her way through a field of wildflowers during the 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Seward.

Tonia Baklanova and other women make their way down the mountain during the 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Seward.

Riga Grubis waves a flag as she cheers on competitors in the 97th running of the Mount Marathon race on Friday, July 4, 2025 in Seward.

Scenes from the 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska

To thwart veto overrides, Dunleavy asks House Republicans not to show up to special session he called According to Alaska law, legislators must vote on overturning the governor’s vetoes within five days of convening.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has asked House minority members not to show up for the first five days of an August special session in order to thwart an effort by majority lawmakers to override his veto of $51 million in education funding.

Alaska leaders decry governor’s education veto as districts consider new rounds of cuts “The veto is problematic even for those of us who are on a very conservative side of the aisle,” said Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche.

School districts and elected officials across Alaska were left reeling after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed tens of millions of dollars in education funding from the state budget, weeks after lawmakers had overridden his earlier veto of a permanent increase to the school funding formula.

You know the best place to be a reporter? Alaska! Come work for the Anchorage Daily News: www.journalismjobs.com/1690546-repo...

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A classic Alaska newspaper correction in this week’s @chilkatvalleynews.bsky.social

Hyder, Alaska: Life and love on the international border - Anchorage Daily News Hyder sits near the extreme southeast corner of Alaska, cut off from the rest of the state but connected by road to nearby Stewart, British Columbia. The connection between Hyder and Stewart runs deep...

In this current climate of cross-border tensions, I'm reminded of a story I reported in the towns of Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, BC back in the summer of 2015. Softball games in Canada on one day, a parade in America on another. A real cross-border party! It may be time for another visit soon.

UPDATED: Thanks to a biologist (who is used to counting large bird colonies), we updated the story with a new crowd size estimate of 3,500+

Over 1,000 people showed up for the #HandsOFF rally in Anchorage

The Seward Folly

Alaska has a new newspaper, The Seward Folly, published in Seward, Alaska. My friends
Marylynn and Bob Barnwell started it. I’m helping them by covering the Seward City Council. Hurray for community journalism!
sewardfolly.com.

A sad update to this story.

I don’t think so

I might have splurged on a bar of these after reporting the story

Vicky Ho named editor of the Anchorage Daily News She had been the newsroom’s managing editor since 2022 and succeeds David Hulen, who retired as editor in mid-March.

Great news for @adn.com, and all of us who have a part in producing the thoughtful journalism made here.

Anchorage’s school language immersion programs — among the nation’s most robust for a city its size — are at risk - Anchorage Daily News Absent additional funding from the state Legislature, Anchorage’s premier, 36-year-old immersion programs will suffer at best, or cease to exist at worst, said the district’s World Languages and Immer...

Anchorage has the nation’s most robust school language immersion programs for a city its size, experts say. Those programs are at risk. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

Future of some Alaska federal office leases uncertain, including for volcano monitoring Federal agencies and their associates don’t know who to call during a period of continual uncertainty about federal leases.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory and several federal offices in Alaska have appeared on lists of leases set to be terminated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

And really, the lead dogs usually get all the limelight but wheel dogs are just as deserving of some love

Oops, those are his wheel dogs, not his lead dogs. I blame sleep deprivation.

Jessie Holmes hugs his lead dogs Polar (left) and Hercules after winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race early Friday morning, March 14, 2025 in Nome.

Jessie Holmes gives some love to his lead dogs Polar and Hercules after they won the Iditarod early this morning in Nome.

Jessie Holmes earns his first Iditarod victory The veteran musher’s victory is a capstone in a short but remarkably successful career in the race to Nome.

Jessie Holmes, a 43-year-old Alabamian who came to Alaska more than 20 years ago, has earned his first win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

I share half of the blame, I did my tires but not the wash

From left, Peter Delamere, Roberto Gazzoli, Tiziano Mulonia, Willy Mulonia, Casey Fagerquist, Joshua Brown, and Mike Beiergrohslein bike down Front Street on their way to the finish line of the ITI 1000 bike race on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Nome. The Iditarod Trail Invitational is a nearly 1,000-mile race from Knik, in Southcentral, to Nome, following the traditional Iditarod trail, and the seven bikers tied for first place.

7 bikers tied for 1st place in the Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000 today in Nome. From left, Peter Delamere, Roberto Gazzoli, Tiziano Mulonia, Willy Mulonia, Casey Fagerquist, Joshua Brown, and Mike Beiergrohslein. The ITI is a nearly 1,000-mile race from Knik to Nome, following the Iditarod trail.

I really enjoyed discovering this place! The scene reminded me of how much fun I used to have at Gig’s in the 90’s. Thanks @theckart.bsky.social !

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A Rural Alaska School Asked the State to Fund a Repair. Nearly Two Decades Later, the Building Is About to Collapse. Rural school districts depend on the state to fund construction and maintenance projects. But over the past 25 years, Alaska lawmakers have ignored hundreds of requests for public schools that primarily serve Indigenous children.

Great reporting here from Emily Schwing and @propublica.org

Iditarod ceremonial start draws eager dog teams, spectators and calls for ‘bootie bootie bootie’ - Anchorage Daily News Even as a lack of snow forced organizers to shorten the course to less than 2 miles, the crowds in downtown Anchorage brought the enthusiasm and energy that’s long been a hallmark of the ceremonial st...

Our updated story, with photos: Today's Iditarod ceremonial start drew eager dog teams, throngs of spectators and calls for "bootie bootie bootie" www.adn.com/outdoors-adv...

NOAA firings hit crucial Alaska weather service, fishery research The firings dealt a blow to an agency that provides everything from weather forecasts to fisheries management to cutting-edge climate science in Alaska.

Alaskans were among the hundreds of NOAA employees who began receiving firing notices this week, a blow to an agency that provides everything from weather forecasts to fisheries management to cutting-edge climate science in Alaska. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...