February 08, 2019 - 8:45 AM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officially begins with a ceremonial start March 2 but preparations are underway for care of dogs along the trail.
Anchorage television station KTVA reports about 60 people this week helped with the annual straw drop, distributing the material on which sled dogs sleep at checkpoints.
Race marshal Mark Nordman says the race is sending out more than 1,000 straw bales.
The Schultz farms in Delta sent three semi-truckloads of straw and hay to Anchorage for the drop.
The bales were unloaded at Air Land Transport in Anchorage. All bales were bagged to keep them from littering aircraft.
Most of the bales are sent using bypass mail rates to rural Alaska.
The race food drop will be next week.
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Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2019