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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
Pictured: Water Tower in National Park, NJ.

Joy and Earth in National Park

Nestled within the southwest corner of New Jersey lies the Borough of National Park, a small town with a big spirit. The close-knit community isn’t just a spot on the map that sounds like a hiking destination -- it's hometown to over 3,000 rural residents whose bonds run deep,… [Read More]
Water
Quintana and USDA SFH Loan Specialist Victoria Martinez

Go for it, homeownership can work!!

Writing her own homeownership story, Karla Quintana and her two children have lived in Garfield County, CO since 2011.  After having to move out of a garage studio apartment, the family was able to move in with friends and rent the bottom half of their home. While owning a… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
A hallway at a rural elementary school shows snowpants and boots across from a wall of blue lockers.

Distance Learning Grant Provides Window to the World for Rural Students

Halfway between Park Falls and Ashland is the rural community of Mellen, population 698. Nestled between the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and nearby Copper Falls State Park, this small community is humming with activity on an early Monday morning in March. Students are… [Read More]
Community CollegesDistance LearningEducationRural DevelopmentRural Partners Network
Healthcare1

Enhancing Rural Medicine

To meet the challenges of a post-pandemic period and to keep pace with the needs of a diverse community, St. Mark's Medical Center (SMMC) looked to USDA's Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program for help. SMMC contributed $4.8 million in uncompensated care and free services… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrants
Brad and Amy Thompson with Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small and Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. on April 3, 2024 at the grain dryer facility.

Rural Energy for America Program Helping with Input Costs for Agricultural Producers

Brad and Amy Thompson upgraded their grain drying operations with help from the Rural Energy for America Program. Thompson Family Farm is a family-owned farming operation that harvests and dries grain at its facility in Donalsonville, Seminole County, GA. This project… [Read More]
Inflation Reduction Act
Rural Development NorthCarolina State DirectorReginald Speight was honoredwith the "Friend of theHaliwa Saponi People"award during the annualHaliwa-Saponi awardsbanquet on January 20, 2024.This recognition is bestowedupon individuals showcasing dedication to the improvement of Native communities, with a focus on the Haliwa Saponi people and their community.

State Director Awarded Friend of the Haliwa-Saponi People

For his unwavering commitment to the advancement and prosperity of Native American communities in North Carolina , USDA Rural Development North Carolina State Director Reginald Speight was bestowed with the esteemed "Friend of the Haliwa-Saponi People" award at a heartfelt… [Read More]
Rural Development
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… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
Two patients exercise in the telehealth cardio rehab room at Benson Hospital.

Health Care Closer to Home – It’s Good for the Heart

In Arizona, Benson Hospital’s telehealth services cut a 100-mile round trip to metropolitan Tucson, allowing residents to focus on what matters most – their health. Before the pandemic, telehealth was nearly nonexistent in Graham and Cochise County, forcing rural Arizonans in… [Read More]
Distance LearningGrantsHealth CareTechnology
A sign in front of an industrial building states Mid-States Material Handling and Fabrication

The Opportunity to Do More: USDA Pass-Through Loan Enables Manufacturing Company Expansion

In Nevada, Iowa, a family-owned and operated business is expanding thanks in part to a $2 million loan from USDA. Mid-States Material Handling and Fabrication is a manufacturer of agricultural material handling equipment, structural steel towers, catwalks, and other steel… [Read More]
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentManufacturing
Roof

USDA’s Housing Preservation Grant and Rebuilding Together Houston’s Network of Partners Improve Safety and Resiliency of Crosby Homeowner

For more than 33 years, Ms. Jacqueline Smith has lived in her Crosby home that was built in 1960. As a single mother, she raised three children on her own when her husband left her many years ago. Ms. Smith describes herself as a good listener and an upbeat ‘people person’ who… [Read More]
Housing

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