Becker County man becomes professional sports announcer for premiere event

DETROIT LAKES — Retired professional musher Ed Streeper was brought aboard to announce the annual Fur Rendezvous dog sled race in Anchorage, Alaska.

The event will be broadcast by the Alaskan Sled Dog & Racing Association on the radio in Anchorage, Alaska and online at asdra.org.

“I was invited for a second go at being a color commentator,” Streeper said.

The Osage resident cut his teeth in the world of professional sports announcing at last year’s race. He was invited to fill in for a long-time announcer that had fallen ill and passed away.

Streeper spent decades racing in the sprint dog championships and collected international titles along the way. So, offering insight to listeners, such as what a musher might be strategizing or concerned about during the race, was second nature.

“I’ve been there (Fur Rendezvous) 21 times with dog teams,” he said, noting during those years he met a lot of mushers, some of which are still racing, including his nephew Buddy Streeper. “He is from my hometown Ft. Nelson British Columbia and has a chance to tie the all time 10-win record held by musher George Attla, who has a movie made about his life called “Spirit of the Wind.”

This year, Streeper said the big race has 16 teams entered from four countries. Three mushers are women and 13 are men.

The Fur Rendezvous is said to be the largest winter festival in North America that offers a variety of activities, including the World Championship Sled Dog Race.

“The race is 26 miles per day; that is three human marathon races, three days in a row,” he said. “It’s the most prestigious sprint race on the planet. It’s a 10-day celebration in the city of Anchorage. It’s fantastic.”

Streeper will announce all three days of the race for about 3 hours per day. To put the speed of the athletic sprint dogs into perspective, the best teams typically finish the 26-mile race in 1½ hours, all three days.

“The recovery time for the athletes is amazing,” Streeper said. “Imagine a runner going out and running a marathon, then getting up and doing it again the next day, then again a third day.”

Streeper noted many people think the dog team times would suffer by the third day, as mushers can reduce the number of dogs on their team, but not add any fresh legs. The reality is, the team time may only see a few minutes difference, if any.

After the race concludes Streeper will return to his full time job of providing dog sled rides at his home, which abuts the Smoky Hills State Forest.