U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development South Dakota State Director Julie Gross today announced that Lake Andes-Ravinia Rural Fire Protection and City of Faith have been awarded federal funding to improve community services.
“USDA is committed to partnering with rural communities, just like Lake Andes-Ravinia and Faith, to ensure rural South Dakotans have opportunities, facilities and services available that allow their economies to grow and prosper,” said Gross. “When rural America thrives, all America thrives.”
South Dakota projects include:
- Lake Andes-Ravinia Rural Fire Protection in Lakes Andes will use a $4,500 loan and a $5,500 grant to purchase three new sets of fire gear including boots, pants, vests, helmets and hoods and an electric fan. The fire department is starting to replace gear as current gear is old and needs to be replaced.
- City of Faith will use a $10,100 loan and a $21,900 grant to purchase equipment for the city’s ambulance. They are purchasing a cot lift and an automatic chest compression machine to be used to provide improved care to their rural community.
Today’s announcement came as part of a larger statement from USDA Rural Housing Service Administrator Bruce W. Lammers in which he announced USDA is investing almost $12 million in 41 community facilities projects that will benefit 214,000 Americans in rural communities in 17 states.
USDA is making the investments and has additional funding available through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program. Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office for application and eligibility details. Also see the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants, a detailed overview of the application process.
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities program funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.
USDA will make additional funding announcements in coming weeks. Congress appropriated $2.8 billion for Community Facilities direct loans and grants in fiscal year 2019.