A head on collision in Carver county Sunday claimed the lives of renowned powersports journalist C.J. Ramstad, and his 17-year-old son J.J.
Ramstad's name is linked with all aspects of Minnesota snowmobiling, from writing and photojournalism, to lobbying and organizing.
"C.J. was the champion of all those people, he was their voice," recalled close friend and fellow powersports journalist Pat Bourgois.
"Whether it was legislative issues, land access, he was just in tune with all those aspects. Everybody in our industry, all the manufacturers, Skidoo, Arctic Cat, Polaris, Yamaha, I know for a fact that everyone in the industry, at one point in time, has called C.J. with a big issue, or big idea, and he was the sounding board."
Along with his expertise, Ramstad was known as a man who embraced the sport of snowmobiling, and anything else he did with passion. "He just loved to ride the darn things, and you appreciate that," marveled Minnesota Bound's Ron Schara.
"He had this passion for snowmobiling, he made a career out of it."
That career involved starting Midwest Sports Publishing Network, a business that created a number of popular magazines and websites like Minnesota Snowmobiling, Snow Week, Sno-Goer, and Supertrax.
Like his father, J.J. Ramstad was a free spirit who lived life by his own rules. A versatile musician, he attended the Mainstreet School in Hopkins. "Everybody's talking about C.J.," said Bourgois, "but you think about his wife and his daughter... they not only lost their father, they lost their son and their brother."
The Ramstads are survived by wife and mother Karla, and daughter and sister Marly.
Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, May 14, at Westwood Community Church in Excelsior.
(Copyright 2007 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
