U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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…
Read More

Find Stories

Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 868 Stories
Midwest Medical Center building

New Design Opens the Door to Improved Patient Care at Midwest Medical Center

A well-preserved 19th-century small town in northwest Illinois has a hidden gem. The Midwest Medical Center in Galena provides care close to home to its neighbors. The Center is classified as a ‘necessary provider due to its critical access status in a rural area. Visitors to… [Read More]
Illinois
Health Care
A family stands outside their home.

Home Means Nevada : USDA Rural Development Nevada is Helping Nevadans Achieve Their Dreams

Nevada has had over a century of continuous population growth, creating a unique set of challenges in the housing space. Since 2010, Nevada has experienced a 17% increase in residents, outpacing national trends. The cost of living has increased exponentially, with the average… [Read More]
Nevada
Homeownership
City Hall of Hawarden, Iowa

USDA Rural Development Helps Northwest Iowa Community Recover from Last Summer's Flooding

In 2008, the city of Hawarden in Sioux County, Iowa, established a revolving loan fund (RLF) utilizing funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. In far northwestern Iowa, Hawarden, population 2,700,… [Read More]
Iowa
Small Business
Marshall Browning Hospital Rehabilitation Center_1

USDA Rural Development Provides Grant to Expand Marshall Browning Hospital’s New Rehabilitation Center

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development provided a $1 million Community Facilities Emergency Rural Health Care Grant to help fund the recent rehabilitation center expansion at the Marshall Browning Hospital (MBH) in Du Quoin, Illinois. The 7,700-square-foot… [Read More]
Illinois
Community FacilitiesGrantsHealth Care
Mayor Bennett and Amy Wilkie review plans

Working Together for Workforce Housing in Swainsboro, Georgia

Lack of affordable homeownership can be a barrier to quality of life for nurses, educators, first-responders, and other blue-collar workers. A new solution using strategic partnerships could soon be opening doors to housing opportunities in rural Emanuel County Georgia.The… [Read More]
Georgia
Housing
Catamount Film & Arts Creative Campus

Catamount Film & Arts Celebrates Fifty Years with Help from USDA

A Creative Vision to STRENGTHEN THE ARTSSince 1975, Catamount Film & Arts (CA) in St. Johnsbury, VT has embraced the mission of providing people affordable access to quality arts engagement in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK), an underserved region designated in 2000 as one of… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Community Facilities
LaValley Family Community Center in Newport, NH

Newport, NH Builds a Place for Residents to Gather and Play

The Journey Begins with a COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONThe various elements that enable a successful community project are often mere wishes and hopes at the beginning of the initiative’s creation story. Some undertakings may have a few ingredients ready to mix in, like a key funder,… [Read More]
New Hampshire
Community Facilities
Dramm Executive Vice President and Corporate Relations Officer Heidi Dramm Becker waters plants with family

From fish scraps to flower scapes: Dramm expands fertilizer production

Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) grant helping rural Wisconsin growers Farmers, home gardeners, and greenhouses across rural Wisconsin are preparing for the growing season, and many are counting on fish-based fertilizers to achieve the flowers and vegetables… [Read More]
Wisconsin
Fertilizer Production Expansion Program
Two people talk to each other in a house

A Home, A Van, and A More Accessible Life in Iowa

When Janice Roudabush was younger, she loved to ride motorcycles. “When I had my accident, I woke up afterwards, and I literally thought I had wrecked my semi, not my motorcycle,” Janice said. “It took me a little while to figure out that I had lost the use of my legs. It took… [Read More]
Iowa
Housing

Additional Success Stories