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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
Image of a Bridger aerospace bi-water scooper

Super Scoopers in the Skies

Montana's wildfire season came a little early this year, as a result of drier-than-normal and windy conditions. But, Bridger Aerospace (BA), a company based in Belgrade, Montana, was ready to answer the call with their two new CL-415EAF "Super Scooper" fire suppression… [Read More]
Montana
BusinessSmall Business
Rose and Crown Apothecary offers a variety of herbal products created from plants native to the Pacific Northwest.

Entrepreneur Training Helps Herbal Hobbyist Create a Rural Business

Sarah Butte wanted to use her background in sustainable horticulture to start a business creating herbal products from garden-grown and foraged plants. She created a CSA and then sold her products through a natural medicine clinic, but she never earned enough for… [Read More]
Oregon
Small Business

New Solar Array Helps Brewery Keep The Lights On

In rural Ord, Nebraska, Scratchtown Brewing Company, LLC is saving nearly 70 percent in energy costs thanks, in part, to a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) renewable energy grant awarded in 2019 to purchase a new 24-kilowatt rooftop solar array. These renewable energy… [Read More]
Nebraska
BusinessEnergyInfrastructureRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessSolar Energy

Recreational UTV’s Provide Opportunity for Social Distancing Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Rory Maynard has owned and operated Edge UTV Rental (Legendary Investments, LLC) also known as Edge Sports located in Lead, SD for many years.  Edge Sports is a ski and snowboarding shop and the site location has immediate access to the Black Hills National Forest. … [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessSmall Business
Randy Gruenwald standing in front of a display of meats.

Dakota Butcher - 2020 SBA Entrepreneur of the Year

Seeing a business close their doors in a small town is always difficult. When the Clark meat shop closed in 2008, Randy Gruenwald decided he wasn’t going to stand by and watch it happen. His professional experience was an excellent fit to revive the business. He worked 15 years… [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessSmall Business
Shawn and Mariah Butenschoen’s willingness to adapt has helped their business and their community. Photo courtesy of Dean Koepfler.

Whatcom County Couple Boosts Their Business, Serves Their Community

One of the benefits of owning your own small business is the ability to be nimble and make quick financial and operational decisions when the need arises. Shawn and Mariah Butenschoen are proof of this. The Butenschoens own a five-acre organic blueberry farm in Elverson, a… [Read More]
Washington
REAPSmall Business
Long's Pic-Pac grocery store

Rural KY grocery store uses energy efficiencies to stay competitive

For over 30 years, Mike Long has worked in some way at the grocery store in downtown Pineville that carries his last name. After all, his father opened it. “We have about 60 employees,” he said, “and we pride ourselves on being a strong part of our community. Part of that is… [Read More]
Kentucky
REAPSmall Business

Last Piece of the Puzzle Lands Expansion

The last piece of this business expansion puzzle must be USDA Rural Development. Excel Boats, LLC determined in Fall 2017 they wanted to expand their business.  At the time, the company was building aluminum boats at their only manufacturing plant in Mountain View, Ark.… [Read More]
Tennessee
BusinessSmall Business

Rural Development project uses 3D printing in fight against COVID-19 spread

As Kentucky does its best to battle the spread of COVID-19, state and medical providers are looking for ways to answer the increasing need for medical personal protective equipment. One of those responding in a big way is a somewhat unlikely source: Somerset Community College,… [Read More]
Kentucky
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentHealth CareSmall Business
Goose Creek Candles, Liberty, KY

Goose Creek Candles improves HVAC efficiency, bottom line

Goose Creek Candles is a family-owned company that was founded in 1998 by Chuck Meece in a small Kentucky town. Along with his wife, Tamara, Chuck grew Goose Creek Candles from producing candles from his home to having mass production facilities across the United States. In… [Read More]
Kentucky
REAPSmall Business

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