Author Archives: Michelle DeWitt

And the $10,000 Minute Madness prize winners are:

Round One Winner: Randy Esmailka of Galena! Randy picked Minute 5 from his son’s birthday.

Round Two Winner: Magnus Laraux of Bethel! Magnus is the son of Gux and Lanai Laraux.

The Kuskokwim Ice Classic hosts Minute Madness, where customers have the opportunity to buy and own a minute of breakup. Both wheels sold out; both winners take home a $10,000 prize. We love this contest and we know the fans love it to- Round One sold out in two hours this year and Round Two sold out overnight. We’ve got some ideas for a new contest next year to put into the mix with the Regular Ice Classic and Minute Madness. Already looking forward to 2022!

Under a gorgeous sky on a warm night, the 2021 Kuskokwim Ice Classic clock stopped at 10:05 pm on Thursday, May 6. After a few slight shifts and few feet of

Spectators just before the clock stopped!

movement through the early evening, the sheet of ice on which the tripod was resting (tipped over, with the “blooms” of the top mostly submerged) began to head downriver and stopped the clock, ending the contest. We were lucky to have staff and committee members at the seawall who captured the moment on Facebook Live video, which is posted on the Kuskokwim Ice Classic Facebook page. Ice Classic staff will be reviewing data and conducting some accounting activities on Friday, May 7. We will announce the winner(s), the jackpot or both together- as soon as we can, but fans should expect that this could take up to a few days. We run the Ice Classic right to the moment of breakup to add to the fun and excitement, so that means we have to analyze all the information after the Ice Classic ends. Thanks to all the fans and customers who make this event so exciting. As a reminder, this year’s event benefits Teens Acting Against Violence, Bethel Friends of Canines, the YK Delta Lifesavers and the Aniak Yuraq Dance Group- all great projects! We hope you all enjoyed the first-ever online guessing that we introduced this year, too!

The blue bloom went under first, followed by most of yellow. Red mostly stayed on top. The “stalks” of the flower also stayed on top of the ice- made it much easier to watch head downriver!

Heading downriver under a gorgeous sky.

The 2021 Kusko Ice Classic Tripod punched through the rotting ice and fell over on the evening of Tuesday, May 4. The clock is still ticking! The 2021 Kusko Ice Classic will accept guesses until the clock is stopped. But reminder of the Deadline Rule: Guesses must be submitted no later than the day before breakup occurs in order to be eligible to win (i.e. no same-day guesses). No refunds will be issued for same-day guesses or guesses made on the day breakup occurs. We encourage customers not to wait until it is too late to submit a valid guess!