Alaska Insight is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by v Just like you.

Thank you.

Anchorage skier Gus Schumacher made histor with a World Cup win in Minneapolis recently.

I just really love doing it with guys and I hope this is the firs And yeah, it's been a great seas Thanks, everybody, for coming.

This has been the best day ever.

It was the first cross-country W event on U.S. soil in 20 years.

What would it take to bring a Wo to Anchorage?

We'll discuss the potential righ on Alaska.

Insight.

There's a lot of excitement over Gus Schumacher's win in Minnesot and rightly so.

Schumacher is only 23 years old and he is the first American mal cross-country skier to take a di World Cup title in more than 40 We'll hear more about his victor and discuss what it would take t a World Cup competition to acrea Before we get to that discussion are some of the top stories of t from Alaska Public Media's Collaborative Statewide News Net Governor Mike Dunleavy is threatening to veto a bipartisan education b that passed the House and Senate by overwhelming margins in Febru unless lawmakers quickly pass ad legislation addressing his prior The bill, Senate Bill 140, inclu several provisions, including increasing the state's per student funding formula, as as creating a new Education Department position tasked with assisting charter sc However, two provisions backed by the governor, a new di approval process for charter sch and a three year program to prov annual retention bonuses to teachers were left ou Dunleavy must act on the bill by March 14 or it becomes law without his si A 16 year old Guy Nashookpuk who has been charged with killing two adults and woun two others during a shooting Sun night in Point Hope, according to charging documents filed Monday, Borough police res just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday night to a report of a shooting at a r Officers found four gunshot vict a dead man and woman, along with two severely wounded Roughly 10 minutes after the sho prosecutors say National Park's father brought him to the point police station where he allegedly confessed to the shooting during an interv with his present parents, present in court on Tuesday.

He pleaded not guilty.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Committee Board voted last week to disqualify former champion Brent Sass from this year's even following accusations he sexually assaulted multiple w The decision came nearly four mo after the race received a letter from an official at Planned Pare Alliance advocates Alaska on behalf of women who had accused Sass of sexual a The unanimous vote also came a w Alaska Public Media, the Anchora News and ProPublica first asked sexual assault allegations again In an interview prior to the disqualification.

Sass denied the accusations.

He did not respond to requests f after the announcement.

You can find the full versions o and many more stories on our web alaskapublic.org or by downloadi the Alaska Public Media app on y Now on to our discussion for thi In February, Anchorage skier Gus Schumacher won a cross ski race at the first World Cup event on US soil in two decades.

At 23, Schumacher is the younges ever to win a World Cup Nordic skiing event and one of only a handful of Ame men who have stood at the top of a World Cup podium We're going to see clips from Sc race in Minnesota with commentar from Outside Watchs DC Oetken and Ryan Seder And we'll see part of an intervi we recorded earlier this week wi In 4.4 seconds off of Schumacher And look at the face of Schumach there.

Look at the emotion start to set in as he is realizi that he is probably going to wal with the win today here in Minne Well, I mean, I'm I'm looking at some of the list of World Cup Noah Hoffman's won two World Cup semifinal.

Hamilton's won a World Cup befor has won a World Cup for the Amer The list is short.

DC said Gus S He would become the fourth Ameri to win a World Cup defending world cham finishing seventh.

Now the Americans are they are s that this is going to happen.

Unbelievable.

And the crowd is erupting right now, not for gold, but they know Schumacher has just won this yea It's going to be two Norwegians on the podium and an American.

The Minneapolis miracle is a reality for Schumac Hurt Schumacher.

I mean, he looks like he's in sh right now still, right?

for sure.

This is the biggest moment of hi was of breakthroughs.

This is a breakthrough when he won that world junior me That was a huge breakthrough to Hey, we can compete with the rest of the world.

We can compete with the Norwegia and the Swedes.

And your winner of the men's at interval three, start again from the United States of Americ Just shocking.

Well, I am so happy to have you on wit Gus Schumacher.

It's fantastic that congratulati on the Burki and the World Cup w It's great that you could take a little tim sure you're super busy, so it's that we have a moment to talk to Tell us, Gus, what was it like r a World Cup event on U.S. soil for the first time in your It was really crazy.

Yeah, Like, you could tell every so happy to be there and excited doing a World Cup in the US for the first time in a long tim Like everyone, all the skiers in feel like it's such a European t and to have it come home and fee the excitement was really, reall I can't imagine the excitement that was there.

The race you won in Minneapolis it wasn't a mass start, so it wasn't clearly obvious that you'd won once you finished Talk about what it was like real you were going to have the faste When that finally when you finally realized that, yeah, it was it was really an interesting pro because it was like I finished and I thought it would be good f to sweet for me.

And then there weren't too many people left on course.

So I was like, This could be a p And then when my friends were like, they were right next to me and they w the ones that were like pointing like, Dude, you could win this.

And that was that was just like, kind of coul say anything, just sort of breathless, like realizing like what was going on And yeah, that was really crazy.

In terms of the energy out on th how much different did it feel than a typical European rac It was electric.

It was so much better than any r I've ever done.

Some of the European races are l Some of them are quiet depending on where they are.

Some of these towns are pretty s not necessarily have a lot of sk So like to be in Minneapolis with that many thousands of fans that all like our into skiing an to have the race there for the first time in 20 years.

No one remembers last time that and that was in the US even.

And yeah you can tell people were just psyched to watc and be there like all of us were Yeah.

Following up on that, in the pos interview, you said the fans coordinated in a USA chant.

How much of a difference does th and did that make for your skiin I think you said you couldn't feel your body.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was really crazy.

I couldn't hear my breath either I couldn't hear the coaches.

It was yeah, it's a super like Y A feeling I haven't had on skis before, like ever in life.

And I don't know how much it cha the actual race.

Like, maybe I was just having a without that.

But it's hard to believe that that didn't affect my last kilometer or two.

Yeah, that energy really helps.

How much would it mean for you guys to have a future World Cup race in Ancho It would, yeah.

I've thought about this a little It would mean a ton just to, lik have that impact.

Like, I can see the impact that that had on all the, like, kids and just everyone that's into skiing in that area.

And obviously a lot of Alaskans were there too.

It was a really But for kids, Alaska kids, to se to just be able to see that without having to fly somewhere and see it on their home trails, I think would be really powerful Really powerful indeed.

Joining me tonight to discuss the potential of holding a World Cup race in Anchorage is Alaskan and Olympian Kikkan Randall.

Kikkan certainly knows what it t to win in international competit She is a five time Olympian.

She's had 13 World Cup victories and is a 17 time U national champion.

There's so mu She is currently executive direc the Nordic Ski Association of An Kikkan, thank you so much for being here My pleasure.

So many exciting things to talk Yeah, it's just so much fun.

You are in Minneapolis for the O Cup, working as a commentator fo What was your expectation going into the event and how do it turned out?

Well, it has been 23 years of pent up excitement.

And I mean, 23 years ago was actually my first World Cup.

It was in Soldier Hollow, Utah, the site of the 2002 Olympic Gam It's a small area, not near a population base.

So while we had a few sprinkled US fans in the course, it was a very different atmosphe And I think with the momentum th has had over the last two decade all kind of culminating in Minne and Minneapolis was actually sup to hold the World Cup four years ago when three days short of the opening ceremony, the world was descending into th and they had to pull the plug.

So I think there was a lot of mo to come back after that.

And it really delivered.

Yeah, it certainly did.

Did you expect so many fans?

30,000 by some estimates and so much en I mean, I had a feeling that tha was going to show up big, partic with the team skiing so well thi But it blew all expectations.

And I think what was unique about the course in Minneapolis is it's a golf course.

It's in the middle of the city.

So it really took that 30,000 pe and packed it around the trail and just the noise level was imm And what was also really cool and a little bit on not anticipa was how well the crowd knew the international field.

So even the European racers made some comments that they fel there was just heart coming from crowd, even more so than just th Yeah, it was so it was fantastic to watch it because I've only se in the European races and so oft that's kind of the vibe there.

And to see that in Minnesota was really amazing.

When did you start thinking about the possibility of holding a world Cup in Anchor Was it at the Open Cup or had you been dreaming about t since well before that?

I think imagining a World Cup in has been a dream of mine for a long time.

When I started to have success in the World Cup back in the mid 2000 and watching so many of my compe get a chance to perform on their turf in front of their fans, their family made me think, I want to bring this kind of exp back to my hometown that was so crucial for my devel And so started having conversati But at that point, you know, had been so long that the International Federatio you know, no one really had the concept of what a US World Cup would loo So I think over the last decade more and more conversations, better and better results.

I think the gold medal in 2018 really did up the ante and get p really thinking about cross-coun skiing in the US more than ever.

And certainly with a success like Minneapolis last week, I think the possibilities are just opening up.

That's very exciting to hear.

Your first Olympic competition was held on U.S. soil in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Do you remember feeling some of the same energy then?

The US cross-country ski team was in a very different in terms of competitive ness that long ago.

Well, I vividly remember my first race at the 22 and I was a5k individual start a I just planted my poles in the s And as a I'm about to go, someone yells Go East High T-Bir And I remember flying out of the like I was going to win the race And then remembering it was five kilometers.

But yeah, you could really feel that hometown that, you know, so many friends and family were able to come.

You know, it just makes it so ac And I thought, man, this is my first experience.

How am I ever going to top that?

But I certainly had that same fe being on the sidelines in Minnea and just seeing how.

So many of the US athletes just just kind of came in with with c And really I think we're excited to be able to showcase their per in front of their friends and fa Yeah, that makes such a big diff as we heard from Gus.

Have you talked with the executive director of t Cup Foundation about what it what it took to bring the World Cup to the Th Wirth course in Minneapolis and what that may spell for Anch Yeah, I've actually become really good friends with Claire who is the executive director.

Actually, of all the places, the United States, the Loppet Fo really mirrors what the Nordic S Association of Anchorage does.

They are an organization that does all things cross-count They groom the trails, they run the programs.

They put on big events, and they're doing it all on publ And that's what we do here in An And so I've connected with her e in my role as executive director and had actually been advising t kind of from an athlete perspect on how important the world Cup experience is in serving the ath And so, yeah, it's really come t and we're both excited to actually form a coalition of across the U.S. who could have the potential to host World Cups, because I th the beauty is seeing what worked well in Minneapolis and being ab to share that knowledge and look at other potential venu I think is is our best scenario for having World Cups not once every 23 years, but having the World Cup on U.S. soil every every other year.

Wow.

That's a great an ambitious What would it actually take to get Anchorage there?

There's a lot of pieces in place already, it sounds like.

But what what would it take to actually make this happen?

Well, what's kind of cool is I mean, Anchorage hosted one of the early editions of the Cup back in 1982.

And so we've got a little bit of there.

Of course, the World Cup looks a little dif today than it did back in the ei But I think we have a lot of infrastructure here in that would make it possible from the technical sports side.

But when you put on a production you have to think about TV, you have to think about sponsors You're bringing the European tea over to Anchorage.

So certainly a bigger scope.

I think though, the power of doing something like that can be so transformative, even for a venue like Anchorage that has 60 years of heritage, because when you have a big even that's your reason to invest in your infrastructure.

The sport continues to accelerat and technology is changing all t And so to be able to have an exa like Minneapolis to draw from, I think certainly having a homet like Gus with the success he's j gives us all the more reason to try and make And I think it could be an amazing thing for Anchorage.

And I'm I'm excited now to get t It's, you know, it's definitely one of those visions that's going to take a while to bring to fruition.

But just in some conversations with local city government officials and things, you know, I think there's interest there.

Well, let's entertain that thoug And is Kinkaid Park the likely v What kind of investment would be to make sure it's ready to host these types of international races?

I think Kincaid certainly makes the most That's where we run the majority of our races out of now.

We've got the we've got courses that are certified by the Intern Ski Federation that have to have the appropriat of climbing and descending and f and all those kind of things.

I think there's potential to develop those.

The more the race formats have g a little bit more towards toward mass start, you know, you have the sprint ev which continue to get faster and more dynamic.

So I think we have some developm in our courses there, which if you do that for a World then goes to benefit.

Any time we host a national race a high school race, you know, even to our citizen ra the scoreboard we have at Kincai we got because the 2001 Special Olympics World Games that came that was over 20 years ago.

And that scoreboard now you can't find the parts.

So we're at a tough position where, you know, we'd love to be able to utilize but you know, it's going to be in some investments and things l You know, what was really cool about the lot, That foundation is about six years ago they buil a building called the Trailhead, which is really become kind of the beacon for their their programing and e And we have we have the Kincaid But it's it's got a lot of deman from community and various uses.

So it hasn't been a full resourc available for the Nordic communi And I think if we were going to the level of a World Cup, you kn we would consider investing in e our chalet, our kind of indoor f And I think that could be someth that would benefit Anchorage yea So yeah, we've got a great canva to start from, but there certainly would be some investme that I think would bring Anchora up to the level of hosting a Wor And do you think that there's en enthusiasm here?

One of the things that we heard this show together is that that' of what it has to it has to be i is a very enthusiastic local com Well, I think there's no there's no shortage of enthus for cross-country skiing here in Anchorage.

I mean, we boast some of the biggest junior progr robust high school teams that ar than some of our major national So there's a lot of enthusiasm h But I do think an event like a W could be that that catalyst that really gets everybody fired and thinking more into the futur You know, we've had potential talks of Olympic bids in the pas and even even that potential has has spurred investment.

And so I think we could bring our community now.

It would be a great challenge for Anchorage to say Minneapolis drew 30,000 fans per We're a city of 300,000.

I think we could top that.

Yeah.

What do you think it would mean to Anchorage skiers who are currently on the World C to be able to race in front of a crowd?

We heard Gus reflect on that a l But what are your thoughts?

What would it have meant for you Well, I'm not sure why I'm a little je because I spent most of my World Cup career toiling away.

The closest I ever got was Quebe where we had a lot of American f come up from the eastern United But it would be so meaningful for our Alaskan athletes.

And, you know, those who are vet you know, by the time we would b to get on the World Cup calendar, Gus is going to be a l more developed in his career.

You know, at that point, it'd be amazing to showcase wher But I love to think about the op it presents for the development of future ch You know, we have kids in our ju Nordic program right now that could be of age to race the Cup in four, eight years.

And so just the idea that a Worl would be coming to Anchorage could be that difference of I want to be a good high school No, I want to be a World Cup cha like Gus someday.

And and then to mention that if we hosted a World Cup, you think about all the kids tha standing in the crowd cheering o And when they see the speed, the of these athletes, you can't help but get inspired.

Yeah, and I know that, you know, our American champion, Ted Liget native of Park City, credits him being on the side of the course at the 2002 Olympics as a spectator, as a young kid for igniting his Olympic dream.

And he became one of our most su alpine racers of all time.

So I would love to provide that kind of opportunity for our in Alaska to be able to see thei up close and just, you know, fee to go after such a big dream.

Absolutely.

So Gus ran through a lot of the great r Your former team, APU, has a strong contingent of young that are just getting started on the world stage.

What's it like to watch them com Well, so Gus dad used to come o ski team trips as our team docto And I vividly remember him bringing his family to a World C in Davos, Switzerland.

And I happened to win that day.

And Gus and his younger brother, they were about ten and eight at the time, and they had these giant bibs on But they we got him out a chance to ski on the course and they were zigzagging around all these World Cup skiers.

And, you know, here we fast forw 12 years later and that little k in the baggy bib is now on the p And so it's been really fun to like see these kids who, you know, just kind of came arou and you could just see had that playful passion for ski but that they've started to beli and we have the training facilit and resources here to allow them the training it takes to make it So it makes me feel tremendously You know, I think the trajectory skiing is still it still has a ton of potential And I hope we can get more kids on that tra I love that story.

That's just such a great story.

So we're almost out of time.

But the tour of Anchorage gets u in Anchorage on Sunday.

Talk about the importance of thi Well, I think what is so special about cross-country skiing as a is it's a lifestyle, and it can be done at the highes where, you know, you see this ye pushing the limits of performanc and inspiring us all as representatives of our countr But it's also about everybody ou gliding on the snow.

And what's wonderful about the tour of Anchorage is that brings all of it togethe It's one of the unique marathon events that actually tr the urban environment.

I think for all of us who live h in Anchorage is pretty cool to say we skid from one side of town to and we have our 50 K elite field but we have our 25 k-ers who have been making this their to just make it that far all sea So it brings everybody together.

We've had a fantastic winter here in Anchorage, so our trails I think we're going to be in top and it's just going to be a fabu to get out and be healthy and be and enjoy the sport of skiing.

So the trails are looking good.

We've had such a wild winter her and, you know, snow melt, snow.

What was the freezing begin?

Minneapolis, where you had snow course, mostly manmade and that You know, so to come back to Anc and see like the snow banks up h has been good.

And I think the the fact that we've had so much has allowed us to weather the ups and downs.

So, yeah, I think this is the ye to come out and do the tour.

Of course, we have skiing and we have a snow bike division And it's just a great day to to really enjoy it because, y we never know what the future holds, right?

That's right.

Well, thank you so much, Kikkan.

It was so great to have you come and talk with us and share these Thank you.

You're welcome.

Whether World Cup events become part of Anchorage' future remains to be seen.

But we know that Gus Schumacher' victory and all the medals that Randall, Rosie Brennan and Sadie Bjornsen have brought home to Al help highlight Alaska's competitive success and elevate the potential for mo and exciting ski events being he right here in Anchorage in futur That's it for this edition of Al Insight/ Visit our website, alaskapublic.

for breaking news and reports from our partner stations across the state.

While you're there, sign up for our free daily Digest so you won't miss any of Alaska' top stories of the day.

Thanks for joining us this eveni I'm Lori Townsend.

Good night.