CARSON CITY, Nev., Nov. 3, 2022 – USDA Rural Development State Director Lucas Ingvoldstad today announced the expansion of the Rural Partners Network (RPN) to communities in Nevada. RPN is an all-of-government program that partners with rural people to access resources and funding to create local jobs, build infrastructure, and support long-term economic stability on their own terms.
Today’s announcement is part of President Biden’s commitment to ensure all rural communities can benefit from federal resources, including historic funding provided by the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring folks throughout rural Nevada have each and every opportunity to succeed and prosper,” Ingvoldstad said. “Rural Nevadans provide the everyday essentials our state and country depend on. By expanding the Rural Partners Network to our state, we can help these important but often overlooked communities receive their fair share of government resources to keep rural folks and economies prepared for the future.”
In Nevada, RPN is expanding to the following community networks:
- Southern Nevada Community Network including Nye and Esmeralda counties
- Sierra Region Community Network including Lyon and Mineral counties
- Moapa Valley Community Network including Clark County and cities of Moapa, Moapa Valley, Overton, Logandale, and Bunkerville
- Nevada 95-80 Regional Development Community Network including Humboldt and Pershing counties
- Southern Clark County Community Network including Clark County and cities of Laughlin, Searchlight, Cal-Nev-Ari
In addition to Nevada, USDA today announced RPN is launching in communities in Alaska, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced RPN communities in North Carolina. RPN helps establish community networks in rural areas where local leaders and residents collaborate with civic and business organizations, nonprofits, service providers, development agencies and others to create new opportunities and build on the diversity of a region’s population and perspectives.
Background: Rural Partners Network
The Rural Partners Network launched in April 2022 in 14 communities in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Native American communities in Arizona.
Community networks within these states and those announced today will receive on-the-ground support from full-time federal staff members assigned to provide technical assistance tailored to the community’s unique needs and objectives. These community liaisons live and work in the rural communities they serve, allowing them to develop partnerships with local leaders to promote growth and prosperity for rural families and local communities.
These federal staff members will help rural communities navigate federal programs, build relationships, and identify community-driven solutions, and develop successful applications for funding.
Additionally, RPN includes an-all -of government strategy supported by more than 20 federal agencies and commissions, working closely together with each other, rural communities, and existing programs and policies. Communities also benefit from coordination through other federal efforts such as the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization and President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative. The Rural Prosperity Interagency Policy Council, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USDA, advises the RPN program and escalates lessons learned through RPN for policy consideration. A team of Rural Desk Officers representing each participating federal agency or regional commission supports the RPN program and the selected community networks.
To deliver on the promise to make federal resources more readily available to underserved communities across rural America, the Biden-Harris Administration is seeking additional federal funding in order to expand the Rural Partners Network to additional places in fiscal year 2023. Information about the Rural Partners Network is available online at Rural.gov.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal, and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/nv.