February 2026
- Myron
- Mar 19
- 5 min read
As a rather uneventful Iditarod comes to a close with a repeat champion who led most of the way, a few race observations are in order. This was the first year for the Expedition Class racers, teams that pay a premium to take part but do not actually compete for prizes. This year there were three such teams and only one finished the race. That team finished well ahead of the first competitive team, mainly because of relaxed rules that allowed for unlimited help and switching of dogs. The reaction to this new concept was mixed and it remains to be seen if the idea will grow. It creates a new source of funding for an event that is often cash challenged, but some folks believe it detracts from the actual race.
Bethel’s only Iditarod racer this year was Pete Kaiser. The former champion didn’t compete for first place, but he did manage to get a send off from the Angstman grandkids at a lake shortly after the start of the race.
One feature of this year’s race was cold weather. This is the thermometer at the Cripple checkpoint, the halfway point of the race.
Prosecutor to Prisoner
Long time Bethel folks might remember the name Joe Wrona who was a District Attorney in Bethel in the 1990s. He achieved notoriety by engaging in a sex scandal with a law clerk assigned to the Superior Court. Of course the clerk was working on cases that Wrona was prosecuting, and thus both participants lost their jobs and many cases that both worked on had to be reopened. One sordid element of that situation was the location of the trysts—a janitor’s room at the courthouse according to local legend. Wrona was never a favorite of ALO, having a decided lack of respect for his elder, and an elevated view of his rather modest skill set. He left town after the scandal, and his name only came up recently as a result of a crime he committed in Utah. He was a practicing lawyer in Park City when he was convicted of felony sexual abuse and incest involving his adult daughter. He initially got an extremely lenient sentence but recently was convicted of violating his probation and given a15 year prison sentence. Here he is with his attorney in court.
Many of the folks he prosecuted in Bethel, usually with a heavy-handed attitude, will delight in this story. Here is a link to the most recent news article. Good riddance.
APU's Winning Streak
On a much brighter note, another former Bethel person has a far better story line. Janelle Vanasse was a teacher in Bethel before moving up to the principal job. She came from Bemidji, Minnesota where she was the only girl in a family of rowdy brothers, one of whom also ended up in Bethel. She married Kurt Kuhne and they spent 20 years in Bethel where he headed up a local adult education organization. At a wine club party in Bethel, Janelle's brother Gary revealed that she was called Pooty as a kid, which certainly should be shared widely. From Bethel they moved to Sitka where Janelle became Superintendent of Mount Edgecumbe High School, a state boarding school. Her next stop was Anchorage where she became President of Alaska Pacific University, a position she holds today. APU made headlines in February during the Olympics when 8 members of the APU Nordic Ski Center were named to the Olympic Cross Country team. That program has often been represented in the Winter Olympics, with at least one participant in every Olympics since 1972. That is an amazing statistic for a private school with about 600 students.
Janelle must be doing something right because APU was recently the recipient of an 18 million dollar grant from the foundation directed by MacKenzie Scott. This grant was unsolicited and came after the US government canceled a much smaller grant because APU had too many Native students (about 30 percent of the student body) . How dare they run a college that appeals to Native kids from rural Alaska?? ALO encourages folks to look up the website and be like MacKenzie Scott, but with fewer zeros.
Mary Meets Murkowski
Granddaughter Mary gets around. Recently she traveled to Washington DC and had a chance to sit in on Congressional hearings as part of her duties as an Arctic Youth Ambassador. Here she met with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Mandatory Moose and Other Characters
Meanwhile her Mom Dolly has been surrounded by moose that have invaded Bethel this winter. Here are two that blocked her way as she went home from ALO recently.
An aerial count of Brown Slough, which flows by the office in Bethel, revealed 50 moose last week. That area has abundant willows and alders for moose browse.
This month’s Mandatory Moose must have dropped his horns in February.
Here is a photo of Long Pond posted by Minnesota neighbor Dean Kleinhans. The Angstman cabin is located just across the pond from Dean’s house on the far left of this photo.
The Cost of Chaos
Of course war news is worth some comment. Since the days of Vietnam, war as a political tool has had no support at the Angstman household. At one point it sounded like Trump and his crew agreed with that position.
Recent events in Iran suggest a change in foreign policy, but to date there has been no clear statement of US goals in that country. One thing is clear the attack on Iran was not well thought out. Today the US is trying to find a way to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and asking our allies to help—the same allies Trump has dumped on repeatedly since taking office. Meanwhile the cost of oil goes sharply up, and with that an increase in everything else is not far behind. And the war is costing a billion dollars per day, with an emergency funding request from the Pentagon for $200 billion. Here is a truth hard to dispute: When a powerful nation attacks a weaker nation the citizens of that nation and their friends find ways to hit back. Because they don’t have as many military resources they look to terrorism to get even. Imagine how many folks would like to seek revenge against the US for the death of hundreds of children in Iran. For a comprehensive view of the Iran situation, please listen to this message from Fareed Zakaria, one of the smartest commentators around.
This page often features information from Fox News on the theory that some unsuspecting readers might be enlightened by stuff that station offers. This first Fox clip concerns clear evidence of corruption.
The other shows Trump talking about genetics as an explanation for immigration related issues.
Corruption and racism seem like a good combo.
In case you have some money laying around after donating to APU, consider sending it to Trump’s spiritual advisor Paula White-Cain. Her approach to fund raising is subtle.
Ending with some humor seems like a good idea.
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