Lance Mackey ahead of the 2015 Iditarod. (Photo By Patrick Yack – Alaska Public Media)

Lance Mackey ahead of the 2015 Iditarod. (Photo By Patrick Yack – Alaska Public Media)

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker plans to visit Haines and Skagway this week. On Friday (10/14), both communities will host Walker in joint borough assembly/chamber of commerce meetings.

In Haines, the meeting is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the Chilkat Center. In Skagway, the meeting is set for 3:45 p.m. in assembly chambers.

KHNS will have more information about Walker’s visit next week.

By coincidence, another famous Alaskan plans to be in Skagway on the same day. Four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey is scheduled to attend a screening of a documentary about his life.

The Great Alone’ was released in 2015. It follows Mackey’s drive to be a dog musher and his battle with throat cancer.

Mackey’s visit and the movie screening were organized by Skagway’s Cindy Godbey.

“He is a champion of dog sledding,” Godbey said. “He won the Iditarod four times in a row and the Yukon Quest four times in a row and nobody’s beat that record. He’s quite the legend.”

Godbey says the money raised from the event will go towards Mackey’s current medical trials. He suffers poor circulation and nerve damage in his hands. Mackey scratched in the 2016 Iditarod because of health issues. Health concerns also caused him to withdraw recently from the 2017 Iditarod.

‘The Great Alone’ screening is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday (10/14) at the Eagles Theater. The borough assembly agreed to donate up to $500 for Mackey’s travel to Skagway.

This post has been updated to reflect more recent news reports that indicate Mackey will not be competing in the 2017 Iditarod.