NPR News Nuggets: This One's For The Dogs

By Wynne Davis

Published April 19, 2017 at 5:32 PM CDT

The dogs that race in the Iditarod are well-trained and competitive. And, you know, sometimes they're a bit derpy looking.

Here's a quick roundup of some of the mini-moments you may have missed on this week's Morning Edition.

Don't give up your day dream

When police pull over a suspected drunk driver, there's usually a few standard tests they have the drivers go through. What's not on those tests is juggling — though maybe it should be. As Morning Editionhost Rachel Martin said on Tuesday, police officers in Conway, Ark., thought they had a caught a drunk driver when they pulled over Blayk Puckett. Then they noticed his vanity license plate which reads"JUGGLER." When Puckett said he was indeed a juggler, the officers wanted to see the entertainer in action. So, Puckett took out some pins and started his routine of throwing them behind his back and under his legs to which the officers responded with some laughter. In what may be a first, Puckett's on-the-spot juggling show served as proof of his sobriety.

All in the family

If you thought you didn't like paying for parking, your grudge against the meter is nothing in comparison to this North Dakota family. As Morning Editionhost Steve Inskeep said on Wednesday, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum wants to lift the ban on parking meters. But that ban has been in place since Howard Henry led a movement in 1948 to create it and make it statewide. Burgum's reasoning comes from business owners who want drivers to move their cars, so others can park as well. The call to lift the ban is not met without opposition though. Henry's granddaughter is, as her grandfather was, opposed to the meters.

Mush On

Typically when teams competing in the Iditarod get to the check point it looks like this: Dogs, sled, musher. That wasn't the case this year.

Maybe you know about the Iditarod because of Balto. Well, while Balto was a real and determined dog, there are many more dogs who take their job just as seriously. The race, in which mushers and their dogs cover 1,000 miles, is underway and teams are starting to reach the halfway point. Well, mostly. As Morning Editionhost Rachel Martin said on Friday, veteran musher Linwood Fiedler's dogs pulled into the checkpoint with the sled in tow. The only problem was that Fiedler wasn't with them. He told the local TV station that as much as he tried he couldn't keep his eyes open and he fell asleep, and then fell off. Maybe it was just a very soothing race, but the terrain covered isn't really made for smooth sledding. Fiedler says his dogs are so well trained and competitive that they continued on without him. They made good time, too because when Fiedler showed up, it was on foot and an hour after the dogs got there.

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