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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 the 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: 868 Stories
Electric Transmission Line

Largest Transmission Line in North Dakota Serves 125,000 Consumers

Electricity provides us with many conveniences: flip a switch and the dark is light, hit a button and our television turns on, heat your home in the winter and cool it in the summer, cook your food on the stove or store it in the refrigerator. Electricity is needed to run heavy… [Read More]
North Dakota
Electric
Lifetime Renter Achieves Homeownership

Lifetime Renter Achieves Homeownership

Rural Development has a multitude of programs that help communities expand upon their existing assets and assist in creating an infrastructure to help improve the lives of rural residents. For Linda Pickett, the opportunity to own a home has long seemed to be a distant reality.… [Read More]
Tennessee
HomeownershipHousing
USDA funds for green house lighting

Local Employer Receives Funds to Save on Energy Costs

 Ace Begonias, Inc. located in Woodbridge, CT., was founded in 1976 using a rented 3000 sq. ft. antique facility. In 1980, with assistance from USDA’s Farmer's Home Administration, they purchased nearly two dozen acres in Bethany and Woodbridge and added a 17,000 sq. ft.… [Read More]
Connecticut
Energy
Local Potato Packager Expands in San Luis Valley

Local Potato Packager Expands in San Luis Valley

Colorado has a long, rich tradition of raising potatoes that dates back to the early 1880’s. Today, it is one of the top producing regions in the U.S., and the majority of the potatoes are grown in the San Luis Valley. While supporting a robust stock of producers, the San Luis… [Read More]
Colorado
BusinessLocal FoodsSmall Business
Local, State, Federal Partnership Helps Homeowner

Local, State, Federal Partnership Helps Homeowner

Debbie Wright, City Recorder for the Town of Big Sandy, set out with a goal earlier this year to find a way to help very low income homeowners in Big Sandy and the Benton County Area obtain affordable financing to complete necessary home repairs.  Mrs. Wright contacted Mary… [Read More]
Tennessee
Housing
Logan County Economic Development Council Exemplifies Economic Development

Logan County Economic Development Council Exemplifies Economic Development

Like a well established tree, the Logan County Economic Development Council (LCEDC) has established deep roots and has branched out throughout their service area. The Council was established by Logan County business leaders, for the purpose of providing professional economic… [Read More]
Oklahoma
Economic Development
White Stone, Va.

Looking Forward in White Stone

Picturesque White Stone, Va., sits on a gateway to the state’s Northern Neck at the junction of the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. It is a town with enormous economic potential, but in the center of town at The River Market during a recent lunchtime rush, owner Jim… [Read More]
Virginia
Water
Making a House Feel Like a Home Again

Making a House Feel Like a Home Again

Sometimes a new home is not what is needed, but repairs and renovations are simply sufficient to make a house feel like a home again. Ms. Mary Jane Hayman who is confined to a wheelchair has been living in the breakfast area of the kitchen of her home. She has been confined to… [Read More]
Mississippi
Home Repair
Mammoth Spring Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

Mammoth Spring Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

Outline Of Need: The City of Mammoth Spring is located in North Central Arkansas in Fulton County. They own and operate a public wastewater treatment facility. The City is positioned on a bluff overlooking the Spring River. The original wastewater treatment collection and… [Read More]
Arkansas
WastewaterWater
Math & Science Building Gives Students New Opportunities

Math & Science Building Gives Students New Opportunities

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU), founded in 1897 as a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln, is striving to rewrite the narrative of Appalachia in the Cumberland Gap of rural Northeastern Tennessee.  LMU recognized a rapidly growing need to expand its math and science… [Read More]
Tennessee
Community FacilitiesEducation

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