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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: 71 Stories
Joe Barb and his son outside their home in Rapid Valley

Self sacrifice leads to safe housing for at-risk area youth

Joe Barb isn’t your typical citizen. He’s the type of guy that sees someone in need and doesn’t turn away. Instead, he offers support. On a cold winter day during the COVID pandemic, Joe took his young son to the last barbershop in town that was still open. “I was talking to… [Read More]
South Dakota
HomeownershipHomeownership 2024Rural Development
A woman and man stand in front of a pontoon boat with a banner that says the company name, "Wilde Recreation."

Nurturing Dreams and Livelihoods: Local Partner in Northern Maine Makes USDA Financing Easy to Access

After a long career in software development, Marci Wilde was ready for a change of vocation. Being a recreation enthusiast herself, she knew how much folks love to enjoy the trails, woods, and lakes year-round, especially up north. So, she packed up and moved to rural Cross Lake… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessEntrepreneurRecreationRMAPRural DevelopmentSmall Business
Maine Flower Collective photo by Gina Bartholomew with Left to Right, Courtney Mongell, Melissa Law, Andrea Ault, Michelle Jones, Mary Lou Hoskins, Carolyn Snell

Maine Flower Collective blooms and grows after first year

In a world where imported blooms typically dominate our bouquets and arrangements, there remains a healthy demand for local, seasonal flowers in Maine. Ranunculus, Lisianthus, dahlias, and hydrangeas are popular for being the beautiful workhorses of flower designs, but they don’… [Read More]
Maine
CooperativesEconomic DevelopmentEntrepreneurLocal ProduceMade in Rural AmericaRural DevelopmentSmall Business
Staff from HH Design in Britton, SD

HH Design selected as Young Entrepreneur of the Year by SBA

Submitted by GROW SOUTH DAKOTA Hillarey Warner owner of HH Design in Britton, South Dakota, was selected to be the U.S. Small Business Administration’s South Dakota 2024 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, after being nominated by GROW SD. After graduating from Northern State… [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessValue Added
A hallway at a rural elementary school shows snowpants and boots across from a wall of blue lockers.

Distance Learning Grant Provides Window to the World for Rural Students

Halfway between Park Falls and Ashland is the rural community of Mellen, population 698. Nestled between the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and nearby Copper Falls State Park, this small community is humming with activity on an early Monday morning in March.Students are… [Read More]
Wisconsin
Community CollegesDistance LearningEducationRural DevelopmentRural Partners Network
The GreenTechnologies manufacturing plant in Clay County

National Biobased Products Day: GreenTechnologies’ 25-Year Quest to Provide Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Chemical Fertilizers

When Green Technologies, LLC began operations in 1999, sustainability was a newer concept in the agricultural industry. Still, the company remained dedicated to growing as a market leader in sustainability and innovation. Now, as the company celebrates 25 years, there is a push… [Read More]
Florida and Virgin Islands
BiobasedBioeconomyBiopreferredRural Development
West River Electric Association crews use bucket trucks install power lines in South Dakota

Cooperatives keep the lights on in Rural Communities

West River Electric Association, based in Wall, S.D. has been delivering power to the counties of Haakon, Jackson, Meade, Pennington, Oglala Lakota, and Ziebach in South Dakota since 1939. Their focus has always been on their customers, who are also their members, and recent… [Read More]
South Dakota
CooperativesElectricRural Development
A woman with a bag walks towards the door of a newly built childcare center.

Lasting Legacy: How a Vision for Childcare Was Built in Griswold, Iowa

Since 1869, the Noble Center United Methodist Church stood on a hill at the corner of Highway 71 and Victoria Road in Noble Township, Cass County, Iowa. Four years ago, the last remaining members gathered. “We had to make final decisions on where and how to gift the remaining… [Read More]
Iowa
Community FacilitiesFirst RespondersGrantsHousingRural Development
photo of ribbon cutting

Rural Community’s First Hospice Center

For the people of Glasgow, Kentucky, a collaboration between T.J. Community Mission Foundation, the city, Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative, and USDA Rural Development helped to meet a critical need in the community. In 2020, the city was able to open its first hospice center… [Read More]
Kentucky
BusinessCooperativesEconomic DevelopmentHealth CareRural Development
group photo of a ribbon cutting

Garbage Turned into Energy

Have you ever ridden by a landfill and watch flames coming out of pipes emerging from the debris and say to yourself-what a waste of energy/heat??? That’s called off gassing to relieve gas build up from garbage. Although, in 2013, Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. (RECC)… [Read More]
Kentucky
BusinessCooperativesRural DevelopmentSmall Business

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