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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: 769 Stories

Smart Ranching

The sun is just rising over the High Plains east of Roswell, New Mexico. --But the day for Trish and Kim Chessar at the Burnt Well Guest Ranch started more than an hour ago. Today, will be special, --their guests will become cowboys.   Since the Chessar’s opened the guest… [Read More]
REAP
Picture of Makoshika State Park

Improving Rural Communities, Business by Business

Glendive EyeCare is nestled in the heart of downtown Glendive, Montana, which is well-known by paleontologists and dinosaur enthusiasts as a treasure trove that is rich in history and archaeological findings. Despite living in a semi-arid climate, the staff of this optometry… [Read More]
REAP
Mendoza Home Repair

Bringing Hope for a Hero through Home Repair

Raymond Mendoza, a retired United States Air Force Veteran, has been a homeowner for over 40 years and felt the overwhelming expense of home maintenance on a fixed income. That’s where the USDA Rural Development Section 504 Home Repair Program was able to help. The Section 504… [Read More]
Home Repair
CEO Margie Molitor standing in front of Hot Springs Health.

Locals Take the Initiative to Save and Improve Their Hospital

Aging infrastructure and technology were taking their toll on the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital, now known as Hot Springs Health, in Thermopolis, Wyoming. However, with local demand and tourists on their way to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, patient levels… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Photo of the BTAC Kitchen

Commercial Kitchen Opens Opportunities for Food Service in Southeastern Utah

Local leaders, board members, and stakeholders gathered to celebrate a grand opening of the Business Technical Assistance Center’s (BTAC) remote workspace and commercial kitchen on August 23, 2021, in Price, Utah. As Stephen Lisonbee, Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs, said at… [Read More]
Business
Marshal Larry Rose with one of the new police vehicles

Chasing Down Lawbreakers in the Bitterroot Valley

As Darby's Chief of Police since 1984, Marshal Larry Rose has been a fixture in this rural Montana community and, with the help of his Deputy, works tirelessly to maintain peace and order in the Bitterroot Valley. In 2021, his aging police vehicles were starting to show the… [Read More]
Community Facilities
REcreate gives 1% back to local non-profits to provide better opportunities for Flathead County

Bringing Micro-Manufacturing Back to Main Street

When Carol Lynn Lapotka purchased an historic building on Polson, Mont.'s Main Street to house REcreate Designs, LLC., her small-batch manufacturing plant and artist co-op, she knew renovations would be needed.  So, this environmentally-focused entrepreneur applied for USDA… [Read More]
REAPSmall Business
Matt Drew illustrates how controlled germination, which essentially tricks the grains into waking up, allows Montana Craft Malt to yield up to 10,000 metric tons of product annually from Montana-grown barley.

Craft Malt Company Germinating Growth in Butte

Montana Craft Malt Company (MCM), which sprouted as an idea from a 2016 white paper published by the State Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce, is now America's first commercial-scale specialty malting plant.  With the help of a USDA Rural… [Read More]
BusinessSmall Business
enny Taylor shows off her refurbuished home after receing a through a USDA Hosuing and Preservation Grant helped repair her failing septic system that was damaging her home.

USDA Helps Single Mom Save Her Home

It is a good day when we are able to reach out and directly effect the lives of people in our state. Penny Taylor was recently divorced. Her home’s aging septic service was failing and damaging her home and yard. Due to her limited income she was unable to afford to have the… [Read More]
Home Repair
Bob Threewitts standing in front of his ground-mounted solar panels

Solar Switch Proves Profitable for Rockingham County Poultry Producer

Bob Threewitts raises heavy broilers in one of the top poultry producing and processing regions of the U.S., so he knows a thing or two about making his operation more productive and profitable. The solar panels he installed a little over two years ago check both boxes and will… [Read More]
Clean Energy

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