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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
Life Floor

“Made in the USA” Versatile Tile Manufacturer Receives Support From USDA

Life Floor Manufacturing, Inc. is a leading designer of slip resistant tiles commonly used around pools and waterparks. In an effort to better serve their customers, they adopted  a lean manufacturing focus  and brought manufacturing home, moving operations… [Read More]
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentManufacturingRural Development
ChugTel co-owner Jim Moberly

Chugwater Area Receives 100% Broadband

Chugwater Telephone Company (‘ChugTel’) is headquartered in Chugwater, Wyoming, and has offered communications services to this small rural community for decades. Known as the “Little Town with a Big Heart,” Chugwater is in a sparsely populated region, however the residents and… [Read More]
Business
Webster's Fire Hall

Infrastructure Shelters Equipment and Provides Enhanced Training Opportunities

Rural communities need volunteers to thrive and help provide services larger municipalities offer through paid personnel, such as a fire department. The volunteer fire department in Webster, SD, understands this need and the facilities and training needed in order to respond to… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Haar Family

Family of Eleven Enjoys Much Needed Space and Affordability Through Homeownership

The Jason and Kabrina Haar family is a big family compared to most with a family of eleven. The couple, along with their nine children ranging in ages from 18 years old to 10 months had been living in a single-wide three-bedroom trailer house just outside of Herreid, SD. The… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
New grocery coolers

Coolers for Rural Grocery Increase Options for Community

Rural communities deserve access to the high-quality food found throughout groceries in large cities. Unfortunately, with the sparse population across southwestern North Dakota, it can be economically challenging to operate a full-service grocery in the area. In the small town… [Read More]
Business
Two owners behind store counter

Farmtastic Food Hub Celebrates Anniversary

Two entrepreneurs and the people of Anamoose recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of a new bakery and food hub in rural North Dakota. Farmtastic Heritage Food Hub opened last year to provide fresh, homemade meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients to guests, along… [Read More]
BusinessSmall Business
East Point Academy

New School to Serve Nearly 550 Students

Rural Development funds were used to purchase and renovate an existing school facility and for expansion of the Elementary School’s campus. An existing building, on Leaphart Street, was purchased and repurposed as the Middle School campus for grades 6th through 8th. Facility… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Pine Ridge EMT Photo

Enhanced Fire Protection Service is Essential for the Pine Ridge Reservation

Founded in 1885, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SD Mines) is a public institution of higher learning in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through a USDA Rural Development Community Facility Technical Assistance and Training grant, SD Mines has partnered with Banner… [Read More]
Community Facilities
Kylie Beckman Photo

Greater Future Envisioned Becomes Reality for New Rural South Dakota Homeowner

Kylie Beckman had been renting a townhouse in Madison, SD.  Oftentimes, she found herself tossing around the idea of becoming a homeowner. One defining day, she woke up and decided that it was time to take steps toward that greater future she’d envisioned by pursuing… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
Staff w/ Holiday Inn Express, Evanston, WY 07-2019

Hotel Construction Builds Economic Growth, Partnership

Evanston, Wyoming, a small town located along Interstate 80, serves as a stopping point for travelers, and energy development employees. The nature of its location and industry has not allowed for a lot of growth. Many residents must leave town to find steady employment.… [Read More]
Business

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