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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: 163 Stories
Mill Creek Residence Hall at Blinn College in Brenham

New Dorm Brings New Life to Blinn College

In January 2016, a meeting was held at the Blinn College campus in Brenham, Texas. Those in attendance included USDA Rural Development, Blinn College, and Raymond James Financial Group. The purpose was to discuss the financing and construction of a new dormitory for the Blinn… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Limon Child Development Center kids

Making a difference for children in Limon, CO

USDA Rural Development received a letter from a child who attends Limon Child Development Center in Limon, CO. Rural Development was able to help the center purchase equipment for their new addition that connected their main building with their gymnasium in 2018. The $… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Norwood Fire Protection District

Norwood Gears Up for Fire Protection

Having the right gear to get the job done safely is crucial for the Norwood Fire Protection Department in Norwood, CO. Thanks to a $33,200 Community Facility Grant from USDA Rural Development Colorado, they will now be better equipped. USDA Rural Development was able to assist… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Celebrating Veterans - Welcome Home Alliance in Montrose

Welcome Home Alliance and Supporting Colorado's Veterans

Melanie Klein, recognized the need to provide our veterans returning home a “no barriers” community where every veteran of our armed services could thrive in the life they choose. She knew that having a place for Veterans and their families to gather and find a support system… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Photo: The roof on the Walterville Grange Hall was replaced with the help of a USDA grant.

Rural Town Preserves Historic Community Hall

The historic Walterville Grange Hall #416 has served as a focal point for this small community in southwest Oregon for decades. It provides a meeting place for the town and hosts events both big and small, from weddings and family gatherings to the annual community fair. When… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Photo: The fire station serving rural Depoe Bay on the Oregon coast received seismic improvements and was fully renovated with the help of USDA funding.

Rural Fire Station Renovated to Withstand Earthquake

The residents of the rural community of Depoe Bay on the Oregon coast are no strangers to earthquakes. Most of the tremors they experience are small, but in the event of a major quake, they would depend on their local emergency responders for assistance. The 40-year-old, three-… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Photo: The rural town of Myrtle Point is responding to medical emergencies in its rugged service area more easily with a new four-wheel drive ambulance.

Removing Barriers to Emergency Medical Care in Remote Community

During a severe ice and snow storm along Interstate 5, the rural town of Myrtle Point struggled to transfer a patient to a larger hospital several hundred miles away using their aging, two-wheel drive ambulance. Nestled in the foothills of the Coastal Mountain Range in… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesHealth Care
Sturgis' Public Works Department Photo

Cost Savings Gained Through Consolidation of Facilities into Singular Campus

The City of Sturgis’ Public Works Department conducted a study on their department with regards to management and facilities.  The report revealed many inefficiencies including over crowded conditions, duplication of equipment and administration. It was determined that cost… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Kili Radio Photo

Solar Array to Assist with Rural South Dakota Radio Station’s Electricity Needs

Lakota Communications, Inc.’s KILI Radio facility will construct a 20kW solar array that produces fifty percent of the facility’s electrical needs.  The radio station transmits across the 3,470 square-mile Pine Ridge Indian Reservation from a remote bluff in the tiny… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Photo: The volunteers that make up the Wheeler County Search and Rescue team now have the necessary equipment to safely conduct rescues and treat patients.

Help is On the Way: Equipping a Rural Search and Rescue Team

Wheeler County Search and Rescue, as with many rural emergency departments, has a limited budget and could not afford essential equipment. This entirely volunteer team borrowed supplies from the Sheriff’s Office, but most volunteers provided their equipment, and the medics even… [Read More]
Community Facilities

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