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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 their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 66 Stories
Brian and Catherine Bartunek family with Rural Development staff outside home

Bartuneks Become Homeowners After Long Journey

Buying a house can be a daunting process for anyone and it’s easy to become discouraged or overwhelmed, but for one South Dakota family, perseverance paid off for their long journey to home ownership. Brian and Catherine Bartunek wanted a place to call home for their three… [Read More]
South Dakota
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022HousingRural DevelopmentTribalUnderserved
Nicholson, Georgia community gathers at Benton Hall in December 2021 for a Christmas celebration.

Community Center Revives Community Spirit

Nicholson hosts the annual Daisy Festival and is centrally located off Hwy 441 driving to the heart of Athens Georgia, home of the Georgia Bulldogs. The city lacks a downtown district and a central place to gather.  Benton Elementary School is a bastion to the city of… [Read More]
Georgia
Community FacilitiesRural Development
Solar panels being installed

Home repair loan helps family drastically cut electric bills

Keeping the electric on was crippling the Maggard family. Electric bills ranging from $300-$600 per month ate up the majority of the family’s fixed income. HOMES Inc., one of Rural Development’s strong housing partners in Eastern Kentucky, led a project combining funding… [Read More]
Kentucky
EnergyHome RepairHomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentSolar Energy
St. Luke's Carbon Hospital

Carbon County Gets a New Hospital

Carbon County Pennsylvania opened the doors to its newest hospital in 65 years on November 21, 2021. The trauma-4 facility is expected to treat about 50,000 emergency care patients a year, thanks to a $98.5 million Community Facilities direct USDA loan investment for the… [Read More]
Pennsylvania
Community FacilitiesHealth CareRural Development
Johanna Diaz poses for a photo in front of her home that she built with the aid of the USDA Rural Development Self-Help Program.

Single mother builds first home for family through Self-Help Program

Johanna Diaz was a single mother living in an apartment when she got the opportunity to build her own home in Imperial, Calif. “It’s easy to buy a house, but to build it with your own hands – it’s amazing,” Diaz exclaimed. Diaz started building her home in January 2019 and… [Read More]
California
Rural Development

New Solar Array Helps Brewery Keep The Lights On

In rural Ord, Nebraska, Scratchtown Brewing Company, LLC is saving nearly 70 percent in energy costs thanks, in part, to a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) renewable energy grant awarded in 2019 to purchase a new 24-kilowatt rooftop solar array. These renewable energy… [Read More]
Nebraska
BusinessEnergyInfrastructureRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSmall BusinessSolar Energy
Operator managing controls on solar powered irrigation in Railroad Valley, Nevada.

Alfalfa Farmer Saves on Diesel, REAPs Success with Off-Grid Solar

Mark Dunn, the operator of Railroad Valley Farms in Nye County, Nevada, had a unique challenge: how do you power irrigation pumps for 500 acres of alfalfa when your farm is off the grid in one of the most remote areas of the state? With the help of a $253,405 Rural Energy for… [Read More]
Nevada
REAPRural Development
Alliant Service Teritory

Acquisition of Alliant Service Territories By 12 Rural Cooperatives

The RUS Electric Program provided financing to 10 of the 12 electric cooperatives involved in the acquisition of the Alliant service territory.  The Electric Program provided a total of nearly $125 million.  The total acquisition cost was about $127 million.  In… [Read More]
Minnesota
ElectricRural Development
Brendon Albers

Native Artists Enhance Community Economic Development

Because of the enduring impact of traditional arts and culture, both on and off reservations, Native artists represent an important yet undervalued asset for enhancing community economic development and creating stronger Indian nations and families. Rural Development awarded… [Read More]
South Dakota
BusinessGrantsRural Development
Heather Gallagher in Home

Natural Building of Homes and Partnerships in Utah

Heather Gallagher has traveled the world to rock climb in as many locations as she can manage. Even so, in all her travels she kept returning to Moab, Utah. In 2002 she decided to make the small town her permanent home. “I know this is the place I want to be at,” she said. The… [Read More]
Utah
Rural Development

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