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: 893 Stories
man and woman stand next to each other with mountains in background

ReConnect Program Brings High-Speed Fiber Internet to Southeastern New Mexico

You might not expect to find high-speed internet in remote mountain areas with gravel roads, but you will soon find exactly that in southeastern New Mexico in the Peñasco Valley Telephone (PVT) Cooperative, Inc., service area.The large area that PVT covers is extremely rural.… [Read More]
New Mexico
BroadbandCooperativesHigh Speed Internet
Rural fire station with trucks visible in five open bays.

Rural Ohio Community Celebrates New Public Works Complex

Community members from Washington Township (OH) near Mansfield gather to celebrate the ribbon cutting on their new Fire Station and Road Department Facility. USDA Photo Washington Township, Ohio, rests among rolling hills and farmlands… [Read More]
Ohio
Community Facilities
Lori Bonifay in front of her home

Building Dreams, Changing Lives: Lori Bonifay’s Journey to Homeownership

GREATFALLS, Mont., Oct. 27, 2024 – At the heart of Montana’s rural communities, USDA Rural Development, Montana is empowering individuals and families to transform their lives through programs like the Self-Help Housing 502 Direct Home Ownership Program. One such success story… [Read More]
Montana
Homeownership
Beau Barkley, Director of Creative & Brand Partnerships, and Tyler Sasse, Founder & Owner of Western Welding Academy, stand in front of the elite welding school that recruits students from around the country.

USDA Rural Development - Fulfilling a National Demand, One Welder at a Time

A nationwide shortage of welders is plaguing the United States. In response to this reality, Tyler Sasse made the decision to develop an elite, competitive welding school in 2019. Western Welding Academy was founded in Gillette, Wyoming, a community historically associated with… [Read More]
Wyoming
Business
Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, speak to a small crowd at the Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024.

‘We’re making energy’: Somerset farmer sees success with solar

Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small (right… [Read More]
Pennsylvania
Solar Energy
Single Family Housing - Cathy Sylvester

Building a Better Future: Cathy Sylvester's Journey with USDA Rural Development

Cathy Sylvester's journey has been a remarkable testament to perseverance and resilience. She purchased a home through USDA Rural Development Indiana in 2018 as a single mom. With a USDA 502 Direct Loan, she got a modest and comfortable space for herself and her two sons,… [Read More]
Indiana
Homeownership 2024
Joe Lewis, Rural Development home repair program recipient.

From Devastation to Renewal: The Journey of Mr. Joe Lewis

Inspiring Journey to Home RepairMeet Mr. Joe Lewis. Like his namesake, the former first black world heavyweight champion, Mr. Lewis, at 84 years old, is a champion in spirit. Living in Monterey, Louisiana, the unincorporated community in Concordia Parish, Mr. Lewis is one of the… [Read More]
Louisiana
Home RepairHousing
Man standing in front of Victor's Drive-In, Hamburgers sign

Rural Business Development Grant Keeps Rural Business Running

Some places evoke wonderful memories of joyful years gone by. Victor’s Drive-In in Peñasco, New Mexico, is just that kind of place. Victor Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran, and his wife, Barbara, opened the restaurant in 1971.After over 50 years in business, the restaurant’s… [Read More]
New Mexico
GrantsLocal FoodsSmall Business
People standing in front of large bio-fertilizer storage tank.

Fertilizer Grant Helps Northeast Ohio Crops Grow

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process that uses microorganisms to break down organic materials, producing both biogas and a nutrient rich byproduct, or digestate, that can be used as fertilizer for crops. quasar energy group's… [Read More]
Ohio
Biobased
Man standing in front of Desert Aire Hotel sign

REAP Grant Helps Hotel Go 100 Percent Solar

While many companies build new hotels for efficiency, the Classic Desert Aire Hotel in Alamogordo, New Mexico, built in the 1950s, was not. Despite that, the hotel’s large roof recently offered an unexpected benefit for sustainability.“This property was built almost for solar —… [Read More]
New Mexico
GrantsREAPSolar Energy

Additional Success Stories