BISMARCK, N.D. Nov. 18, 2021 – Acting State Director for USDA Rural Development North Dakota Mark Wax today announced the Department is investing $11 million to improve equitable access to jobs, business opportunities, education, housing, and health care for people who live and work in rural areas. The investments are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensure that people living in rural communities have equitable access to the infrastructure and opportunities often taken for granted by people living in urban and suburban areas.
“Americans the nation over should all have access to the same opportunities and amenities,” said Wax. “Our agency’s mission is to accomplish that by bridging the gap between urban and rural communities as it pertains to things like housing, water, and job opportunities. Today’s announcements build on that by providing funding to many projects aimed at improving things in rural communities in North Dakota.”
Background:
Wax highlighted 12 investments that USDA is making in three programs specifically designed to help people and businesses in rural areas. These programs include Tribal College Initiative Grants, Housing Preservation Grants, and Water and Waste Disposal Grants.
The funding nationwide will help more than 425,000 people in 46 states, Puerto Rico and the Western Pacific. They reflect the many ways USDA Rural Development helps rural residents, businesses and communities address economic development, infrastructure, and social service needs. They will help low-income people make health and safety repairs to their homes. They will help build and improve water and wastewater infrastructure for people living in U.S. communities along the Mexico border. They will help rural business owners in the Mississippi Delta get access to capital and business development assistance. They also will help colleges that serve Tribal populations upgrade campus buildings and services.
For example:
- The Keystone Development Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., is receiving a $173,288 Socially Disadvantaged Group Grant to provide business development technical assistance. It will support women who own agricultural cooperatives that grow flowers and various types of fibers. The project is expected to help 25 women farmers in three counties in Pennsylvania and five counties in New Jersey.
- Central Florida’s Habitat for Humanity/Lake-Sumter is receiving a $351,135 Housing Preservation Grant to help 42 low- and very-low-income people make essential health and safety repairs to their homes. These investments will support healthier and happier lives for all 42 homeowners.
- The Skagway Development Corp. in Alaska is receiving a $121,825 Rural Community Development Initiative grant to help small businesses develop five-year growth and operating plans. It will provide the services to businesses with 50 or fewer employees and less than $1 million in gross revenues. This investment will help new entrepreneurs and small business owners be more likely to succeed and create jobs in their communities.
- Minnesota’s Red Lake Nation College is receiving a $175,448 Tribal College Initiative Grant to purchase computers, a 15-passenger van and lawn maintenance equipment. The college will replace the 30 computers in the learning center and computer lab, and 32 assigned to faculty and staff. These improvements will support an even better education for college students at the institution.
In North Dakota:
- The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians will use four grants totaling $7.5 million to construct lagoon improvements. The Shell Valley lagoon area to be improved has many deficiencies that inadequately treat the wastewater in the system. With the completion of the project, the waste at the Shell Valley lagoon will be relocated to a consolidated wastewater treatment system and the lagoons located over the Shell Valley aquifer, the main drinking water source for the tribe, will be abandoned to protect the water source. In addition, the consolidated system will allow for additional users to be connected, providing safe waste disposal for residents.
- The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will use a $2 million grant to install a watermain from Kenel, South Dakota to the North Dakota border to benefits the residents of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. There is currently not rural water service to this area of the reservation and many wells do not provide adequate or reliable water for residents. The new watermain will allow for residents to have access to a safe water supply from the rural water system.
- The North Central Planning Council will use a $75,000 grant to replace windows and exterior entrance doors in several multi-family housing buildings, in the city of Rolette, Rolette County, North Dakota. This will improve the living conditions in 38 units for very low-income families.
- The Red River Regional Council will use a $119,318 grant to provide home repairs for qualified low and very low income, single family owner-occupied homes in Nelson County North Dakota.
- The Cankdeska Cikana Community College will use a $175,448 grant for facility improvements. The improvements include a new boiler, flooring for classrooms, and a concrete floor for an exterior maintenance building. This project is in Fort Totten, North Dakota and will benefit the approximately 4,200 residents that live on the Spirit Lake Reservation.
- The United Tribes Technical College will use a $175,448 grant to finance street improvements. The project entails a reconstruction and rehabilitation of portions of All Nations Circle at the intersection of University Drive. The new access would be moved approximately 500 feet to the north and would be a new asphalt roadway and sidewalk elements. Pedestrian access across University Drive would also be moved. The facility currently does not readily provide room for expansion of signage, pedestrian elements and limited visibility due to being up against the property line.
- Sitting Bull College will use a $175,448 grant to install infrastructure. Funds will be used for additional paving improvements between the Building Trade Center and the adjacent Transit Center part of campus include the completion of hard surface paving from back to front of the facility, which will help alleviate ponding issues. The new paving will also allow for additional hard surface parking adjacent to the building. These upgrades are very important for the college, so they can maintain their campus and provide a quality education to their students.
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. USDA Rural Development is prioritizing projects that will support key priorities under the Biden-Harris Administration to help rural America build back better and stronger. Key priorities include combating the COVID-19 pandemic; addressing the impacts of climate change; and advancing equity in rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
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.
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