Ryan Swanson has lived in Carlton township most of his life at Chub Lake. He has a loving wife and two sons. His wife's name is Rachel and his two sons' names are Jaden and Justan Swanson. Ryan works as a Civil Engineer—this includes lots of construction and road work. His two sons also grew up in Carlton and attended Carlton High School where they just recently graduated.

Ryan Swanson used to work at Kwik Trip, and worked there for a couple of years. Ryan was really into math and had been thinking about being a math teacher, but decided against it. He then went to UMD for three years, and started at an excavation company. In 2012, when the swinging bridge broke at Jay Cooke, Ryan helped dig for the footings of the bridge. He also helped with the brick parts. His job was probably the most important because the whole bridge would fall without the footings. As an excavator, Ryan Swanson mostly paves for the roads.

In the years that Ryan Swanson has been in Carlton, he says that not a lot of things have changed. He says that most of the things that changed are new people, and a lot of new businesses. His favorite new businesses are Magnolia and Streetcar.

Ryan Swanson grew up in Carlton, and never really thought about moving. Ryan loves that he can go swimming, hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling here. He also loves to go to Jay Cooke and hike. He plays volleyball a lot and owns a pontoon, which he has fun driving and swimming from. Ryan loves the place that he lives, and doesn’t plan on leaving.