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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: 885 Stories
Man standing in front of grocery store.

Energy Grant Helps Local Grocery Serve Neighbors and Community

New energy efficient lighting illuminates the well-stocked produce section of Albert’s Fresh Market in Grafton, Ohio. USDA Photo.  Small businesses are the heartbeat of rural communities, helping them thrive by providing goods,… [Read More]
Ohio
BusinessEnergy
Scott and Melissa Holt with their two cows in front of the Bistro

From Cow to Cone: Local Bistro Offers Fresh Take on Ice Cream

When Scott and Melissa Holt moved to Hot Springs, their plan was to retire. They started as a small farmer’s market selling meat, farm produce and homemade ice cream. Soon they saw the demand for their specialty ice cream grow – even in the dead of winter.People would come to… [Read More]
South Dakota
Local FoodsRural DevelopmentSmall Business
Aerial view of OSU South Centers in Piketon, Ohio.

Partnership Helps Rural Cooperatives Thrive in Appalachian Ohio

The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Center for Cooperatives, based at the OSU South Centers in Piketon, Ohio, helps enhance quality of life by integrating teaching, research, and extension to support cooperatives with… [Read More]
Ohio
CooperativesEconomic DevelopmentEducation
Woman fills coffee pot with water in sink

The coffee’s on at Kim's

The coffee’s on in a refurbished house in rural Radisson, where the dream of homeownership is being experienced for the first time ever with the help of a USDA Single Family Housing direct loan.After much dedication, a new homeowner who worked throughout most of her adult life… [Read More]
Wisconsin
HomeownershipHousing
A man stands against a porch railing with a long wood shed behind him. The roof of the shed is covered with solar panels. There is fall foliage in the background.

Marsh River Co-op Finds "the Easiest Way to Reduce Overhead Costs"

The Waldo County town of Brooks is located about half an hour from Belfast on the Penobscot Bay. It is a rural community with a population of about 1000 people. The store is located right downtown in a property that was recently donated… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessCooperativesEnergyFood SupplyLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPSmall BusinessSolar Energy
Men standing on top of wastewater plant building.

Wastewater Treatment Gets Upgrade in Rural Ohio Town

Thanks to the perseverance of community leaders and property owners, the Board of Clermont County (OH) Commissioners opened a new wastewater treatment facility in the former Village of Newtonsville, which is now part of Wayne Township. … [Read More]
Ohio
Wastewater
Vicki Beckendorf of Odin recently compelted a long-awaited kitchen renovation with the help of Rural Development's Section 504 Program.

Transforming a Kitchen Dream into Reality

Meet Vicki Beckendorf, a longtime resident of Odin, Minnesota. In 1998, she and her husband fell in love with their charming farmhouse, built in 1912. Over the years, however, the house began to show its age, revealing a growing list of repairs and updates that needed attention… [Read More]
Minnesota
Home RepairHousing
People standing in front of a fire truck in a field.

SW Ohio City Breaks Ground on New Fire Station

The City of Loveland, Ohio, gathered on a sun-drenched autumn morning to celebrate the groundbreaking for its new fire station. Local leaders and community partners, led by Loveland Mayor Kathy Bailey, donned helmets of Fire Station 63 and took ceremonial shovels in hand to… [Read More]
Ohio
Community FacilitiesFirst Responders
Larry Geraldson, Army veteran with his wife and first house built with Rural Development loan.

Full Circle: One Veteran's Journey from Rural Development Loan Recipient to Advocate

Of the 4.6 million veterans living in rural areas, one is Rural Development of Louisiana's Area Office Director and Army veteran Larry D. Geraldson. Larry served his country for over 21 years in both active and reserve military service, including three combat tours of duty in… [Read More]
Louisiana
Homeownership
Midwestern Meat Locker staff show off their new jackets in 2022.

Veteran-owned Meat Processor Expands Thanks to Intermediary Relending Program

There’s no doubt about it – feeding a large family can be expensive. When U.S. Army Veteran Ryan Dennis and his family realized how much beef they were consuming each year, they knew they needed to get creative.“We were going through two and a half cattle per year. We thought we… [Read More]
South Dakota
Small Business

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