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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 44 Stories
Group photo of Frenchtown, NJ, community with RD NJ staff at a groundbreaking event.

Invasions and Investments Keep Jersey Town Afloat

For the last 20 years, one small New Jersey town nestled along the bank of the Delaware River spends an entire weekend preparing for something you’d pull out of an adventure book – an all-out Viking invasion. Hundreds of locals line the water’s edge as the river’s current… [Read More]
Water
Photo of a freshly paved East Washington Street in Gillett, Wisconsin

City of Gillett Paves the Way for State Highway Reconstruction

Whether we like it or not, orange barrel season is right around the corner in Wisconsin. Roads across the state will soon come under construction and orange barrels will pop up like bulbs in the garden. Depending on the type of project, communities can prepare in advance… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesInfrastructureWater
Mni Waste water tower in Eagle Butte, SD

Delivering mni wašté to residents of Cheyenne River Reservation

The Lakota phrase mni wasté translates to mean good water, which is what Mni Wasté Water Company’s 13 staff strive to deliver to the residents of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and surrounding area every day. Leo ‘Earp’ Fischer is the director of the water company. He’s been… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrantsRural DevelopmentTribalWater
An aerial view of a glowing greenhouse at the Waupun Wastewater Treatment Facility.

From Your House to Greenhouse, Waupun Wastewater Facility Celebrates New, Advanced Technology

In May 2021, a groundbreaking was held at the Waupun Wastewater Treatment Facility to mark the start of construction on a new Advanced Biological Nutrient Recovery (ABNR) system. Roughly 140 days later, attendees of the 2023 Algae Biomass Summit, the largest gathering… [Read More]
BioeconomyBiomassWastewaterWater
A water treatment facility at Seal Rock, Oregon.

Collaboration and Climate Resilience: Seal Rock Water District Finds A New Source

Seal Rock’s drinking water was in danger. For nearly 50 years, Seal Rock Water District (SRWD) relied on water purchased from the nearby town of Toledo, Oregon. The water could only be delivered through a 7-mile-long, underground pipeline. Already prone to landslides and… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesDisasterWastewaterWater
Town officials conferring with an RD staffer at the wastewater treatment plant site.

Taming an Energy Hog to Support a Growing Community in Elkton

Wastewater treatment is one of those services that most folks only think about when something goes wrong. In Elkton, Va., the quaint brick manholes of this scenic Shenandoah Valley community were covering a simmering issue with the sewer lines below. The treatment plant was… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrantsInfrastructureRural DevelopmentWastewaterWater
Oxidation Ditch at Poplar Wastewater Treatment Facility

Re-Building a Wastewater Treatment Facility in Rural Montana

Located on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, the City of Poplar is a thriving rural community of 759. It serves as Tribal headquarters of the Fort Peck Tribes and sits along Montana’s famed Hi-Line – the state’s northernmost route running from the North Dakota border in the east… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesTribalWastewaterWater
Rural Development and Thunder Valley visiting outside the Montessori School

Routine Servicing Leads to New Projects

When communities look to expand facilities, often they’ll call on Rural Development to learn what loan and grant opportunities might provide support. Rural Development Community Facility Program Loan Specialists like Katie Hammer offer a valuable resource for those communities… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEconomic DevelopmentHomeownershipHousingTribalWastewaterWater
USDA Rural Development West Virginia State Director Ryan Thorn (left), Hardy County Public Service District General Manager Logan Moyers (center), and USDA Rural Development Area Director Steve Collins take a picture in front of the new Hardy County PSD office building in Moorefield, West Virginia.

“They’re Always There for Us”: USDA Helps with Recovery Efforts

It was June 1, 2018, a severe storm had battered Hardy County in eastern West Virginia causing flooding, mudslides, and landslides. The storms brought heavy rain and caused significant damage to private property and public infrastructure in Hardy County. The Hardy County Public… [Read More]
DisasterWastewaterWater
Man standing next to lagoon

Cleaning Wastewater in Harlowton, Montana

Harlowton, Mont., a rural community which also serves as Wheatland County’s seat, modernized their wastewater system with assistance through USDA Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.  See how they used these funds to transition to UV… [Read More]
GrantsWastewaterWater

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