With all 28 teams into Nome, the 2014 Iron Dog is set to launch into the long jog east to Fairbanks Thursday morning.

The road out of Nome features some last-minute changes. Early in the morning, race officials declared that, due to poor ice conditions between Nome and Unalakleet, racers would have to travel overland from Golovin to Elim. Traveling on the sea ice between Koyuk and Shaktoolik was still allowed.

With just 20 minutes to inspect their snowmachines during the 36-hour hold in Nome, and with the top four racers less than an hour apart, every minute of wrench time impacts the racers’ times.

The top teams in the race spent just minutes fixing their sleds.

Fourth into Nome, defending Iron Dog champs Dusty VanMeter and Marc McKenna of Team 17, spent just 2 minutes and 45 seconds wrenching.

By comparison, race leaders on Team 10, Mike Morgan and Chris Olds, spent a lot of time in the shop: 14 minutes and 45 seconds. Far from the longest wrench time—Team 2, Shane Barber and Ryan Sottosanti, spent more than 45 minutes in the shop—Morgan and Olds’ time on repairs means they leave Nome just 26 minutes ahead of the competition.

Third place Team 16, Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, beat Van Meter and McKenna into Nome by nine minutes. That lead drops to just four minutes after they spent 7 minutes 38 seconds in the shop. Also boasting fast wrench time were second place Team 41, Cory Davis and Ryan Simons, who worked on their machines for 9 minutes 11 seconds.

Morgan and Olds left Nome at 8 a.m. sharp Thursday, and at 8:26, Minnick and Olstad gave chase. Three minutes later, at 8:30 a.m., McKenna and VanMeter followed. The next team to leave will be Team 6, Andy and Brad George, at 9:15.

The racers will speed back along the Norton Sound coast, heading east and south back through Unalakleet, Kaltag, Galena, and Ruby, before making the final jog east to the finish in Fairbanks.

The last two teams into Nome, both rookies teams (despite several “did-not-finish” credentials to their names) include Team 33’s Michael Fuller and Eddie Kinn, and Team 26’s Jacob Hartley and Devin LaBarbera. They arrived at 7:05 p.m. and 5:53 p.m., respectively.

Ten of this year’s 38 teams have now scratched out of the race, with three—Doug Dixon and Mike Vasser in Team 3, Tim Jauhola and Kyla Malamute in Team 4, and Chris Carroll and Ray Chvastasz in Team 5—doing so just after reaching Nome.

A 58-year-old Palmer man is accused of making multiple "obscene and harassing" phone calls to 911.

Alaska State Troopers say Jordan Greer was arrested on a charge of harassment Wednesday night around 10:30.

Troopers say they were notified Wednesday night that Greer had been making the calls.

"The man initially called claiming that someone who stayed with him stole some items," Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters said Thursday.

The calls started at about 6 p.m., Peters said. Greer "was not reporting emergencies and was intentionally tying up the emergency line."

Troopers say Greer was warned numerous times to stop, but he didn't. "The calls were obscene in the sense that he began threatening people’s lives," Peters said.

When he didn't, he was arrested for charges of harassment around midnight.

Greer was transported to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility and held without bail.

An Anchorage man faces more than a decade in jail for drug trafficking charges and arming himself with a stolen gun in violation of the law.

In federal court Thursday, 39-year-old Anchorage resident Micah Sean Ramirez was sentenced to 138 months, or 11.5 years, in prison after being convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, as well as felony possession of a firearm.

Information presented to the court shows Ramirez sold 13.4 grams of meth to an undercover law enforcement officer.

In addition, court documents show Ramirez had a loaded pistol on his lap and a stolen handgun in the back of a vehicle at the time of the sale. With a prior felony conviction for assault dating back to 1996, Ramierz is prohibited from possessing firearms.

In addition to the methamphetamine that he actually sold, prosecutors said Ramirez also had 44.8 grams of pure methamphetamine stored in a pocket behind the front passenger seat of the car.

Gov. Sean Parnell has proposed an additional $32.7 million for the proposed Susitna-Watana hydro project.      But the money is contingent upon the Alaska Energy Authority, or AEA, securing land access permits required for field studies and other work.      AEA is the group pursuing the massive project between Anchorage and Fairbanks.      Parnell proposed the funding as part of his amended supplemental budget for the current fiscal year. The dam funding brings the total supplemental package to about $86 million.      AEA had wanted $110 million to complete its initial study report and prepare its license application for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the upcoming fiscal year.      Parnell included $10 million in next year's budget, saying he wanted to see greater progress on the land access agreements.

nother young man is in critical condition and a 16-year old is stable, according to police.

An Australian petroleum drilling company is asking the state of Alaska to help pay for the cost of drilling a well near Homer that came up dry. Buccaneer Alaska LLC on Monday announced it plans to file for nearly $3.1 million in credits offered as an incentive for Cook Inlet drilling. The Anchorage Daily News reports Buccaneer plans to plug the dry well that cost more than $9 million 20 miles northeast of Homer. The company halted work at the West Eagle No. 1 well at 3,700 feet. The company also wants two $600,000 performance bonds returned from the state. The state Department of Natural Resources in December said the state planned to keep one $600,000 bond because Buccaneer missed a Dec. 1 deadline to start drilling.

The state Legislature's Democratic minority offered its own education package Thursday, which includes an increase in base student allocation and allows charter schools to be located within neighborhood schools when space is available. Incorporated in the set of bills will be an increase of the base student allocation by $404 per student, a one-time grant of $500 for charter schools to assist with startup costs, and a requirement for traffic control at and around school zones. Democratic lawmakers hope the allocation increase will hold off teacher layoffs for next year. The bills will be introduced Friday, more than a third of the way into the session. Sen. Berta Gardner, a Democrat from Anchorage, says of the timing: good things take a long time to happen.

House majority members on Thursday were asked about the potential in tax revenues for the state should voters approve an initiative this summer legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. No member answered the tax question directly, but Eagle River Rep. Dan Saddler said he worries about social costs. He's encouraging Alaskans to consider the "unintended consequences" when deciding how to vote. Colorado's governor, in a budget proposal Wednesday, estimated sales and excise taxes of nearly $100 million on marijuana next fiscal year, above the estimate of $70 million a year given to voters when they approved the tax. Colorado is one of two states that has legalized recreational use of marijuana. The Alaska initiative would make pot possession legal for adults 21 and older and establish an excise tax.

A tip from a Midtown motel led Anchorage police to seize a package containing an estimated $400,000 worth of cocaine and heroin Wednesday, with its recipient facing federal drug charges.

In a Thursday statement, APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro says California man Markee Allen, 27, has been charged with attempting to possess cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute it to others. The incident leading to his arrest began with members of the department’s Special Assignment Unit receiving a tip from motel staff about a suspicious package addressed to Allen, one of their guests.

A federal affidavit on the case against Allen was filed Thursday by SAU officer and APD SWAT team member Robert Wurst. In the complaint, Wurst identifies himself as a deputized officer with the federal Safe Streets Task Force working with drug, gang and weapons cases. According to the affidavit, employees of the Motel 6 at 5000 A St. informed police Wednesday that Allen had received two FedEx packages at the motel. When a third arrived after he checked out, the staff tip prompted officers to meet Allen as he checked back in to retrieve the package. After a K-9 unit indicated the presence of drugs in the package, Allen waived his Miranda rights against self-incrimination and spoke with police. “Allen stated, in substance, he was attempting to pick up the FedEx box which he stated contained a kilo of cocaine and heroin,” Wurst wrote. “Allen stated this was the third parcel he had been sent that contained illegal drugs that he had received.” Officers obtained a warrant to open the third package, seizing more than three pounds of drugs.

“A (kilogram) of cocaine was seized in addition to a half-kilo of heroin; the combined street value of the drugs totaled $400,000 and the wholesale value of the drugs was estimated at $151,000,” Castro wrote in her statement.

In addition, more than $6,000 in cash was seized from Allen, as well as a stolen .44-caliber Taurus handgun. “Allen stated he requested and received the firearm from an associate in Anchorage as a form of protection while he was in Alaska,” Wurst wrote.

Castro says that Allen was arrested without further incident.

"He was cooperative when taken into custody," Castro said.

No local charges are pending against Allen, because the incident is now a federal case. He is expected to be arraigned Friday in federal court.

Less than eight hours out of Nome on the second half of the Iron Dog snowmachine race Thursday, its front-runners are making another stop for a required layover, joined by four additional teams in Kaltag. Mike Morgan and Chris Olds’ Team 10 remains the team to beat in the 2,000-mile trek from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks, with race standing showing the duo off the trail for 10 hours after pulling into Kaltag at 2:27 p.m. Thursday. Their closest competitors, Team 16’s Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, took their Kaltag layover starting at 2:54 p.m., setting up a potential duel for the race’s lead as the teams’ layovers end early Friday morning. Morgan was optimistic Thursday morning at the 8 a.m. race restart in Nome about the staggered departure he and Olds enjoyed ahead of more tightly packed teams, with Team 41’s Cory Davis and Ryan Simons taking off just seven minutes before Minnick and Olstad. The three other teams on layover in Kaltag to round out the top five -- Team 23’s Brian Dick and Eric Quam, Team 40’s Archie Agnes and Arnold Marks, and Team 8’s Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson -- are at a greater remove from the lead, arriving at 4:19 p.m., 5:07 p.m. and 5:26 p.m. respectively. No new scratches have been reported in the race Thursday, with 10 of the original 38 teams off the trail since the Iron Dog’s Sunday start in Big Lake.

Police and medics responded early Thursday morning to the scene of a fatal car crash, the second on the same South Anchorage road in less than two months.

APD dispatchers say initial calls about the crash, at the intersection of O'Malley Road and Commodore Drive, came in just after 3:20 a.m.

Police say an SUV was driving westbound on O'Malley when it veered to the right and hit a snow bank. The car rolled “multiple times” and came to a stop at O'Malley's intersection with Commodore.

“The vehicle lost control and started to roll, coming to a stop in the backyard of a condominium complex,” APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro wrote in a statement.

A resident of that complex told Channel 2 he awoke just after 3:30 a.m. to the sound of the car crashing through his fence and yard.

Police say three teenagers were in the car, with two males ejected from the vehicle. One, a 17-year-old, was declared dead at the scene. The other, who police said is 18 years old, was transported to a local hospital. As of 6:30 a.m. Thursday he was in critical condition.

A third passenger, a 16-year-old woman, sustained injuries but “was able to get out of the vehicle,” police wrote. She was also receiving care at a hospital as of Thursday morning and was in stable condition. Police haven't yet said who was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Jill Missal, director of the Abbott Loop Community Council, says both O'Malley and Commodore are dangerous roads.

"It's just really obvious that this is a dangerous intersection," Missal said. "People drive too fast on Commodore and O'Malley and (they) have had a history of really bad accidents."

About a mile east on O'Malley, Ponesi "Nesi" Tutonu-Tufi, a wife and mother of two, was killed in a crash on the night of Jan. 2.

The APD Traffic Investigation Unit was at the scene Thursday morning, as police tried to learn more about what happened.

Thursday's investigation closed Commodore, as well as the westbound lane of O’Malley between Lake Otis Parkway and the New Seward Highway, for hours. Police had hoped to fully reopen the road shortly after 8 a.m.

Channel 2's Sheila Balistreri, Mallory Peebles, Garrett Turner and Matthew Smith contributed information to this story.

Less than eight hours out of Nome on the second half of the Iron Dog snowmachine race Thursday, its front-runners are making another stop for a required layover, joined by four additional teams in Kaltag. Mike Morgan and Chris Olds’ Team 10 remains the team to beat in the 2,000-mile trek from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks, with race standings as of 8 p.m. showing the duo off the trail for 10 hours after pulling into Kaltag at 2:27 p.m. Thursday. Their closest competitors, Team 16’s Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, took their Kaltag layover starting at 2:54 p.m. Morgan was optimistic Thursday morning at the 8 a.m. race restart in Nome about the staggered departure he and Olds enjoyed ahead of more tightly packed teams, with Team 41’s Cory Davis and Ryan Simons taking off just seven minutes before Minnick and Olstad. The four other teams on layover in Kaltag to round out the top six -- Team 23’s Brian Dick and Eric Quam, Team 40’s Archie Agnes and Arnold Marks, Team 8’s Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson, and Team 2's Shane Barber and Ryan Sottosanti -- are at a greater remove from the lead, arriving at 4:19 p.m., 5:07 p.m., 5:26 p.m. and 5:47 p.m. respectively.

Most drivers opted to play it safe and spend their 10 hours in Unalakleet, 94 miles earlier on the trail east to Fairbanks; a total of 14 teams are there Thursday night, with the earliest check-ins Team 41's Cory Davis and Ryan Simons, Team 17's Marc McKenna and Dusty VanMeter, and Team 6's Andy George and Brad George. The three teams were logged in to the checkpoint at 1:02 p.m., 1:18 p.m. and 2:21 p.m. respectively. No new scratches have been reported in the race Thursday, with 10 of the original 38 teams off the trail since the Iron Dog’s Sunday start in Big Lake.

(KTUU-TV, 2014)

(KTUU-TV, 2014)

The Anchorage School Board approved a budget for the district’s next school year Thursday night, including several amendments to a plan unveiled in January which would have cut 219 staff positions. Thursday’s unanimous 7-0 vote comes almost exactly a month after the Anchorage School District released its $566 million proposed budget, intended to bridge a $23 million projected budget shortfall with deep cuts to classroom instruction amid declining enrollment.

Two amendments also passed by the board restored 19 positions, including 16 full-time teaching positions and three high-school counselor positions at a total cost of $1.9 million. A third amendment postponed implementation of a plan to shift teachers from teaching six periods a day to seven, instructing more students at the cost of less time with individual classes.

ASD Superintendent Ed Graff says the annual battles over the district's budget have taken a toll beyond dollars and positions.

"It's a very difficult process, and just the whole cycle of how we go through this every year -- and uncertainty about what our funding is going to be -- has a real significant impact on morale," Graff said. "It just creates a lot of energy in an area where we don't necessarily feel we should be focusing; we should be focusing on instruction and supporting our students, so it becomes a challenge."

Anchorage Education Association President Andy Holleman says that while the district and board face pressure to approve an initial budget, union officials think its funding totals remain subject to change.

"I think we're all pretty confident that the number's going to be something different and it's going to be higher, so we go through quite a process where they have to approve this and begin acting on it," Holleman said. "We're also pretty sure the actual outcome is going to be different, so we're going to go through a couple months of stress as things begin to follow."

Among more specific changes made by the budget, as originally proposed by ASD, were cuts to junior ROTC instruction at high schools and expansion of the district’s iSchool online instruction program. Public testimony on the budget has seen numerous comments in favor of protecting teachers, with 106 elementary, middle and high school teachers set to be cut in its original version.

The school board's president, Tam Agosti-Gisler, says the board is procedurally required to act on approving a budget, regardless of people's opinions on its content.

"A lot of the public responses in terms of the overall cuts desire that we not make any cuts at all," Agosti-Gisler said. "Unfortunately, we do not have revenue-producing powers, and therefore we must give a balanced budget to the Assembly by that first Monday in March."

On Thursday, Holleman laid some blame at the feet of the state Legislature, which has seen competing proposals for raising Alaska's base student allocation -- but no move yet that immediately increases the state funds ASD and other districts receive annually for each student's education.

"If the funding number was known earlier in the legislative session, it could all be avoided," Holleman said. The budget is still subject to approval by the Anchorage Assembly. Channel 2’s Samantha Angaiak contributed information to this story. This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates.

Alaska State Troopers say a 12-year-old boy has been arrested after he shot at a 13-year-old girl with a BB gun at a school gymnasium in the northern Alaska village of Ambler.      The girl was struck in the leg.      Troopers say the boy took the gun to the school Saturday night and shot at security cameras.      According to troopers, the boy then shot at the girl, who ducked for cover behind an entrance door.      Troopers say one shot struck the girl in the leg and another BB hit the door glass, which prevented the girl from being hit in the face.      The boy was arrested and taken to the Nome youth facility.      Ambler is a village of about 260 people located 138 miles northeast of Kotzebue.

A smaller number of legislators are expected to attend The Energy Council and other meetings in Washington, D.C., than last year.      Currently, nine members are slated to attend, according to lists provided by the House and Senate majorities. Requests were pending for two other representatives.      Lawmakers defend the annual trip, which every year usually falls during the legislative session, as important given Alaska's heavy reliance on oil. They say it also provides a chance to meet with members of Congress and other decision-makers.      Besides the Energy Council meeting during the first week of March, the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region plans an Arctic roundtable on March 6.      While activity at the Capitol has slowed during Energy Council week in past years, House and Senate leaders said they planned to continue holding floor sessions and committee hearings.

A measure declaring Nov. 14 Walter A. Soboleff Day is going to the House floor for a vote.      KINY reports the measure honoring the Tlingit leader moved out of the House State Affairs Committee Thursday after hearing testimony from his four children.      Soboleff died in 2011 at age 102. He was the first Alaska Native minister in Juneau during a period of racial segregation.      The Sealaska Heritage Institute broke ground on the Walter Soboleff Center in August 2013. The downtown Juneau center will also house the Sealaska Heritage Institute, where Soboleff devoted so much of his life's work.      The center is projected to be completed in late 2014.

A trailer fire in Chugiak late Thursday night displaced a family of 11, including nine children. Anchorage Fire Department dispatchers confirmed that Chugiak Volunteer Fire Department crews went to a working fire at the trailer, on the 22000 block of Dogsled Court, in response to a call at about 10:30 p.m. CVFD Chief Virginia McMichael said the fire was was confined to two corners in the rear of the structure and an area below the trailer.

Crews reported the fire under control around 11:08, with the blaze extinguished "in about 45 minutes" McMichael said.

"It was put out quickly, so it's not a total loss," she added.

Four rigs--one engine, one tender, one rescue, and one medical unit--were dispatched for the fire.

The family of 11 abandoned the structure at the time of the fire. The family, two adults and nine children, were seeking assistance from the Red Cross.

McMichael said the family was Hmong and may have needed language assistance. Channel 2’s Mike Ross and Chris Klint contributed information to this story.