BISMARCK, N.D., Nov. 19, 2021 – Acting State Director for USDA Rural Development North Dakota Mark Wax announced that USDA is investing $300,000 to build and improve critical community facilities in North Dakota. This community infrastructure funding will benefit nearly 20,000 people in rural communities.
“Projects such as these showcase the partnership we have with our rural communities,” said Wax. “Each year, we work with as many communities as we can to help them provide the best services to the communities they support. USDA Rural Development puts rural people at the forefront of investment and opportunity to help us all build back better, stronger, and more resilient.”
USDA is investing in 537 projects nationwide through the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. The assistance will fund essential community services that will help keep rural America resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The projects will finance emergency response vehicles and equipment; build or improve hospitals and clinics; and combat food insecurity.
For example:
- In Iowa, Lee County will use a $165,000 grant to purchase six ambulances. The ambulances will help to provide emergency medical response services to nearly 36,000 rural people.
- In Minnesota, Tri-County Hospital Inc. will use a $42 million loan to build a health care campus in Wadena. The facility will include three emergency bays; two trauma rooms; 14 inpatient rooms; three operating rooms; one endoscopy room; four suites for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum; 50 clinic rooms; 10 major imaging modalities; and 14 universal platform spaces to support surgery, emergency, imaging, obstetrics and ambulatory services. The larger operating rooms will help expand services, improve technology, and enable robotic surgical procedures. This project will help to improve and expand access to critical health care services for more than 7,200 rural people.
In North Dakota:
- The City of Ellendale will use a $107,000 grant to purchase a payloader for the City of Ellendale. It will be used for street maintenance, landfill maintenance, snow removal, and other miscellaneous city needs. This project will benefit 1,394 rural residents that live in Dickey County.
- The Elgin-New Leipzig School District will use a $72,400 grant to complete an envelope restoration project to make repairs to the exterior of the Elgin/New Leipzig School. The restoration and repairs will include masonry repair, tuck pointing mortar, caulking and sealants, and cent patching to make the building more airtight. The restoration will reduce the risks associated with water penetration, air leakage, and thermal performance while increasing durability and energy efficiency of the building.
- The Finley-Sharon School District #19 will use a $6,800 grant to purchase playground equipment. This equipment will provide more play options, promote more physical activity and will be safer than the current equipment due to its physical footprint. This project will impact over approximately 900 individuals in the Finley-Sharon School District #19.
- The Wishek Home for the Aged will use a $12,000 loan to purchase a transit van. The new transit van will be smaller and more efficient than the existing one and will be equipped to provide services to individuals needing mobility accommodations, along with other seniors who require transportation to medical and other appointments outside of the Wishek Living Center. The transit van will enable up to four or more individuals to be served at one time and it will be equipped with a retractable track set, a manual ramp, seat belts for wheelchairs, ratchet tie downs for wheelchairs, ADA lighting and a side entry ADA conversion, and will be much safer and more efficient.
- The County of Barnes will use a $112,000 grant to purchase two motor graders for the Barnes County Highway Department. These motor graders are used to grade unpaved county roads in the summer months and snow removal in the winter months. This project will be instrumental in helping the department maintain roads year-round for over approximately 11,000 county residents.
The investments announced today will support community infrastructure projects in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Background:
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities 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. For more information, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/community-facilities-direct-loan-grant-program.
Today’s investments complement the recently announced funding availability under USDA’s Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program, which also is being administered through the Community Facilities program. Through this program, USDA is making up to $500 million available through the American Rescue Plan to help rural health care facilities, tribes and communities expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services and nutrition assistance.
Under the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program, Recovery Grant applications will be accepted on a continual basis until funds are expended. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/erhc.
Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office for information about additional funding, application procedures and eligibility. Also see the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants (PDF, 669 KB) for a detailed overview of the application process.
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. 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. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to 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.