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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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Search Results: 76 Stories
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]
Community FacilitiesFirst RespondersGrantsHousingRural Development
Bennett County Hospital

What if the ambulance never comes?

Audio file Your browser does not support the audio element. What-if-the-ambulance-never-comes-Bennett-County-Hospital.mp3 Download files: What-if-the-ambulance-never-comes-… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesFirst RespondersGrantsHealth Care
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
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]
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]
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023Underserved
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]
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023Underserved
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]
CooperativesGrantsHealth CareUnderserved
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]
GrantsHome RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023
Leaders from USDA Rural Development and Sen. Murkowski's office break ground for the Chugachmiut Regional Health Center.

USDA Rural Development celebrates Chugachmiut Regional Health Center groundbreaking

USDA Rural Development Alaska State Director Julia Hnilicka 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 past three years really… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrantsHealth CareInfrastructureRural DevelopmentTribalUnderserved
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]
Food SupplyGrantsLocal FoodsLocal ProduceSmall BusinessValue Added

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