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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 the 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: 869 Stories
Rural Development and Thunder Valley visiting outside the Montessori School

Routine Servicing Leads to New Projects

When communities look to expand facilities, often they’ll call on Rural Development to learn what loan and grant opportunities might provide support. Rural Development Community Facility Program Loan Specialists like Katie Hammer offer a valuable resource for those communities… [Read More]
South Dakota
Community FacilitiesEconomic DevelopmentHomeownershipHousingTribalWastewaterWater
Hospital staff assisting patient with mammography screening

Winning in Winner with Advanced Technology

Giving patients the best and most thorough mammography screening experience is so important to a rural community, but the technology doesn’t last forever. That’s exactly what Winner Regional Health experienced when their aging two-dimensional (2D) mammography imaging wasn’t… [Read More]
South Dakota
Community FacilitiesGrantsHealth Care
pickup truck with snowplow in Ravinia, South Dakota

Keeping Streets Cleared in Ravinia

When winter arrives in South Dakota, Ravinia citizens rely on the township to clear two miles of local roads. Keeping local roads clear allows residents to get to and from work. When their equipment prevents them from clearing the roads, it makes the morning commute a bit more… [Read More]
South Dakota
Community FacilitiesGrantsRural Development
A sunny industrial kitchen with equipment, a hood over a range, and ovens.

With RAIN Catalysts, Oregon Entrepreneurs Shine

Though their businesses may be small, rural entrepreneurs play a big role in the nation’s economic development and prosperity. They create local jobs, revitalize Main Streets, and enrich their communities. With every open sign and website launch, these intrepid innovators bring… [Read More]
Oregon
EntrepreneurSmall Business
Ruben Lopez Opening Smoker to show meat cooking inside.

Commercial Kitchen Fires Texas Barbecue up to Next Level

When Ruben Lopez and his wife Katherine moved from Texas to Price, Utah a few years ago, they didn’t have plans to open a restaurant. The idea began with a question Ruben posted on Facebook. “How would y'all like some Texas barbecue out here?” His query received hundreds of… [Read More]
Utah
Economic DevelopmentEntrepreneurGrantsLocal FoodsSmall Business
A new manufactured home with a long ramp in Iowa

Making Home Happen

The long white ramp leading up to the porch entrance of the home serves vital functions for homeowner John Bryson, Jr. For many years, John ran his own restaurant, but after a lifetime of hard work and medical issues, John had become disabled. Without a house of his own when a… [Read More]
Iowa
HomeownershipRural Development
Artist John Welch standing in front of his colorful art in an exhibit.

Artist Finds a Way to Continue Painting

A few years ago, artist John Welch was renting a small house in Helper, Utah. He describes it about the size of a cottage, although it met his needs. The best part was he had enough space in the basement to create art. John incorporates colors and patterns in his art to… [Read More]
Utah
HomeownershipHousing
Smiling woman standing in a shop with honey and honey-themed products on shelves on the walls and on racks.

Entrepreneurs and RD: a Match Meant to Bee

Mark and Linda Graf have a crew of over 400,000 bees in over 100 hives working for them near Emerson, Nebraska. The Buzz, their store on Main Street, sells local honey and related products.   The Grafs are shining examples of entrepreneurship in rural America. Linda… [Read More]
Nebraska
EntrepreneurLocal FoodsMade in Rural AmericaREAPRenewable EnergySmall BusinessValue Added
Owner of Fable Farms preparing wine

Building Small Rural Businesses

Small businesses are the center of rural communities and ensuring they have the tools needed to be successful is important for their sustainability. Fable Farms, a wine company in Washington, felt the strain during COVID-19 in 2020. Finding supplies for the business and getting… [Read More]
Washington
GrantsSmall BusinessValue Added
Developing Entrepreneurship in Lovington, N.M.

Developing Entrepreneurship in Lovington, N.M.

When the first class of the ‘Local Innovators Institute’ gathered in March of 2020 there was nothing but excitement. Why? Because everyone came to find out if their dreams of opening a restaurant would come true. The ‘Local Innovators Institute’ is a business development class… [Read More]
New Mexico
Economic DevelopmentEntrepreneurGrantsRural Development

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