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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: 886 Stories
water treatment plant

Water Treatment Plant Provides Abundant Water Source and Sparks Community Development

The City of Thomasville purchased their entire water supply from a nearby town and did not have a back-up water source. City leaders were frequently forced to implement water usage restrictions on their citizens, even during winter months, and on two occasions the city… [Read More]
Alabama
Economic DevelopmentWater
Renovated space at West Holt Memorial Hospital.

West Holt Medical Services Upgrades Facility

West Holt Memorial Hospital is a 17 bed Critical Access Hospital. West Holt Medical Services includes the hospital, two clinics, and four providers. Many portions of this hospital have not been renovated since the 1970s.  A USDA Rural Development loan of $1,294,500 was used… [Read More]
Nebraska
Community Facilities

Western Iowa Gets Gigabit Internet Service

Where can Iowans find some of the fastest internet service in Iowa?  How about in three rural communities in the western part of the state that have a total population of just 962 residents. Residents in and around the communities of Breda (pop. 483) and Lidderdale (pop.… [Read More]
Iowa
BroadbandTelecommunications
Enjoying the cool air from new air conditioner.

Will Someone Turn the Air On?

Alma Sweeney lives in Culbertson, NE. on a limited, fixed income. Her air conditioner unit was beyond repair and with the summer heat she wouldn’t be able to stay in her home. Air conditioning was necessary due to her health issues.USDA Rural Development helped by providing… [Read More]
Nebraska
Home RepairHomeownership
Winyan Toka Win Garden

Winyan Toka Win Garden Evolves Into Micro Farm

When the Cheyenne River Youth Project® (CRYP) first began its organic garden in 1999, staff members at the 26-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization scarcely could have imagined where that little garden would take them. Now, 16 years later, the thriving 2-acre Winyan Toka… [Read More]
South Dakota
Community Facilities
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]
South Dakota
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]
Wyoming
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]
South Dakota
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]
South Dakota
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]
North Dakota
Business

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