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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: 767 Stories
Woman and man standing in front of their home in Montana.

Disaster Grant Helps Montana Homeowners Recover from Historic Flood

In May 2022, Tim and CJ Wyman thought all might be lost when the Yellowstone River crested its banks, flooding their modest Fromberg neighborhood.  This 100-year flood event wreaked havoc up and down their quiet street, and if not for a grant from USDA, they might have had… [Read More]
Home Repair
Sprocket Paducah

West KY nonprofit looks to level tech jobs, entrepreneurship playing field

Spend time with anyone involved in economic development in rural Kentucky, and you’ll hear different ideas about what will bring meaningful prosperity to the region. Some hang their hat on recreation activities like motorsports and responsible use of natural resources (… [Read More]
BusinessEntrepreneurSmall BusinessTechnology
Bicycles outside Berry Fast Bicyclles in Madison, S.D.

Local bicycle sales and service keep riders moving

As warmer temperatures approach, bicyclists are making plans to hit the roads and trails to enjoy the great outdoors. For residents living around Madison, winter is their time to bring in bikes for tune-ups so they aren’t losing valuable riding time in the summer. Thanks to… [Read More]
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentSmall Business
With the assistance of a $113 thousand USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Grant, The Pamlico Rose Institute is helping female Veterans by promoting wellness and building resilience through their various programs, activities and events. Rural Development’s investment was used to restore The Barn. This structure is being used for community events and workshops including woodworking, visual arts, crafts and yoga classes.

Rural Development Assisting Female Vets Down East

Tucked away off the main throughfare in Washington, North Carolina, The Pamlico Rose Institute, with the assistance of USDA Rural Development, is helping female Veterans by promoting wellness and building resilience through their various… [Read More]
Underserved
Ranchers in pasture with their cows

Todd Family Meats Raised with Love from Montana

On a small, abandoned generational ranch along the banks of the Yellowstone River just outside Big Timber, ranchers Heidi and Gary Todd ring the dinner bell, calling their cattle herd to a feast of hay protein snacks. Starting with six cows in 2007 and building the herd slowly… [Read More]
Local Foods
Katherine Roth, executive director of the Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center, holds a plaque with the letters "JREC" on it, the abbreviation for her organization.

Helping Businesses Get Started on the Right Foot

JAMESTOWN, N.D. Feb. 15, 2024 – “Grow as a person. Grow as a professional.” These are the words that immediately greet you when visiting the website of the University of Jamestown where a small but committed entrepreneurial center nestled on its North Dakota campus helps… [Read More]
Small Business
Photo of a freshly paved East Washington Street in Gillett, Wisconsin

City of Gillett Paves the Way for State Highway Reconstruction

Whether we like it or not, orange barrel season is right around the corner in Wisconsin. Roads across the state will soon come under construction and orange barrels will pop up like bulbs in the garden. Depending on the type of project, communities can prepare in advance… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesInfrastructureWater
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]
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]
Community FacilitiesFirst RespondersGrantsHousingRural Development
Woman holding lettuce grown in aquaponic greenhouse.

Family Roots Run Deep Growing Aquaponic Produce in Montana

Dinner plates in Billings, Montana, will have more leafy greens thanks to a family-owned farm and grant from USDA Rural Development. Taking its name from family and honoring its deep Montana history, Swanky Roots is a year-round aquaponics greenhouse specializing in organically… [Read More]
Local Produce

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