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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 the 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: 84 Stories
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]
South Dakota
Community FacilitiesGrantsRural DevelopmentTribalWater
Printing press at Midstates Group in Aberdeen.

Doing more with less

If you’ve picked up a program at a major sporting event, subscribed to an agriculture magazine, or used a workbook while studying, chances are good that Midstates Group printed it right here in north central South Dakota. This business has clients that reach coast-to-coast and… [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessGrantsREAP
Milani Pimental and her family

Rural Development Helped Her Own a Home: She's Now Kauai's Habitat for Humanity Executive Director

Twenty-two years ago, Milani Pimental and her husband built their home in Kalaheo, Kauai with the help of Kauai Habitat for Humanity and the Single Family Housing Direct Home Loan, also known as the Section 502 Direct Loan Program, through USDA Rural Development (RD). The… [Read More]
Hawaii and Western Pacific
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023
Roxanne visits with guests during homeownership event

Partnerships help ease financial burden for homeowners

The stress of buying a home is common for many people. It’s likely the biggest and most important purchase we make in our lifetimes. Yet for many Americans, the financial burden may make that purchase unreachable. Rural Development housing programs offer a variety of options to… [Read More]
South Dakota
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023
Community meets to discuss creating a home care cooperative in their community

Home Care Cooperative Training Meets Pressing Need in Rural Nebraska

It started with a simple phone call. A few years ago, a woman contacted Cindy Houlden, the Cooperative Business Director at the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center, with a question about home care cooperative job opportunities. At the time, Houlden and her team were not… [Read More]
Nebraska
CooperativesGrantsHealth Care
Linda Lawson on the front porch of her Wytheville, Va., home.

Putting Home Repairs in the Picture for One Wytheville Resident

You won’t find too many people who love their new roof as much as Linda Lawson. The shiny blue metal sheets not only appeal to her artistic sensibilities but also give her a greater sense of security as a barrier from the storms of life. The freelance photographer was already… [Read More]
Virginia
GrantsHome RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023

USDA Rural Development celebrates Chugachmiut Regional Health Center groundbreaking

USDA Rural Development leadership attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chugachmiut Regional Health Center in Seward, Alaska, Saturday, June 3. The occasion marked the start of construction of the $20 million facility. The 15,475 square foot Tribally owned and operated… [Read More]
Alaska
Community FacilitiesGrantsHealth CareInfrastructureRural DevelopmentTribal
A farmer looks at produce for sale at the Barreras Farm Market.

Feeding the Body, Enriching the Mind

The motto of the Barreras Family Farm and Farm Market is “Feeding the Body, Enriching the Mind.”  Mariel and Anthony Barreras, along with their eight children, bring this motto to life. Together, they run the farm and store – and do so much more. The Barreras family… [Read More]
Nebraska
Food SupplyGrantsLocal FoodsLocal ProduceSmall BusinessValue Added
Chris Wall and his family in their cherry orchard

Keeping it local works best for Utah orchard farmer

Wall Brothers Orchards has been in the fruit growing business for more than 50 years, growing apples, peaches, and cherries in Payson, Utah. The highest quality fruit is selected to sell to distributors and consumers in Orchard Brothers Farmer’s Market. Every growing season a… [Read More]
Utah
Food SupplyGrantsLocal FoodsLocal ProduceValue Added
Rock County Librarians Macey Lackoff and Kim Orr

There's More to the Story

National Library Week is April 23-29. The theme this year is “There’s More to the Story.” To the folks in north central Nebraska, where towns are small and there are many miles between homes, farms, and ranches, this theme comes to life at the Rock County Community Library. For… [Read More]
Nebraska
Community FacilitiesEducationGrantsRecreation

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