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Former Arctic Cat owner dies at age 86

Lowell Swenson, former Arctic Cat and Mesaba Airlines owner, died of natural causes at the age of 86, reported the Grand Forks Herald.

Swenson, a native of Lancaster, Minn., had purchased a majority interest in Arctic Enterprises, now known as Arctic Cat, in 1965. Under Swenson’s leadership as chairman, president and CEO, the company made the Arctic Cat brand a household name.

“The snowmobile industry was basically nothing when he started,” Swenson’s second-oldest son, Alan, of Cody, Wyo., said in the article. “He created it. He had tremendous drive, and he was very persuasive.”

Swenson also served as director and director emeritus for the present-day Arctic Cat.

“He was a tireless promoter of the companies he was with and the community,” said Ole Tweet, Arctic Cat’s vice president of new product development, who worked with Swenson in the 1970s. “He was very generous with grants. He was just a great guy, who was very enthusiastic.”

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