Rural seniors often desire to age in their communities, surrounded by familiar faces and places. However, with fewer healthcare providers, professional caregivers, and young people compared to urban areas, rural communities face challenges in caring for their aging residents.

Enter The Mustard Seed Project, established in 2007 by Edie Morgan.  Her vision was to assist elders on the Key Peninsula in western Washington, enabling them to remain in their homes with volunteer support.

Farmer’s Union Oil Company of Circle and Terry is a farm and ranch supply cooperative that started in 1930. It serves member owners with products such as fuel, propane, fertilizer, and tires.

In early 2023, Farmer’s Union Oil finished construction on a new, larger-capacity fertilizer plant in Circle, Montana, replacing one that had been in operation for more than a half-century.  

Eligibility

To check eligible areas for Business Programs, Community Facilities, and Water and Environmental Programs, view the program eligibility look-up map: Puerto Rico Eligibility Map (arcgis.com)

In the City of Guthrie, there isn’t just hope, there is literally a house built on hope that serves the needs of low-income families and provides meaningful shelter and an opportunity for meaningful rehabilitation.

A USDA Rural Development investment grant of $84,000 helped those involved in Hope House Guthrie, with the necessary funds to complete the purchase of an 18,000 square feet shelter that provides clients in the area with rapid rehousing.

In the shadow of central Montana’s Crazy Mountains sits Wilsall, a picturesque community of 200 rural residents who – with a little help from USDA Rural Development – now have a safe, reliable water supply.

Nearly six years ago, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) mandated improvements to address nitrate contamination and ensure Wilsall’s two wells met water quality and safety standards. For the last few years, only one of the two wells has been operable. 

Hand-me-downs are a right of passage in many large families but aren’t a great approach to public safety in rural communities. The Alberta Volunteer Fire Department was making do with engines procured from nearby communities when the nonprofit decided to pump the brakes on costly repairs.

When we turn on the water faucet in our homes, most of us take for granted that water will pour out. It seems almost unimaginable to think that there might be a time when water would not flow. But three years ago, this situation became a reality for residents of a small community just south of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

While modern homes have been equipped with circuit breaker-style electrical panels for decades, many older homes may still have screw-in fuse panels that were commonplace from the early-to-mid 20th century. Jeannie Feickert’s home in Leola was one such home.

For the last 20 years, one small New Jersey town nestled along the bank of the Delaware River spends an entire weekend preparing for something you’d pull out of an adventure book – an all-out Viking invasion.

Hundreds of locals line the water’s edge as the river’s current guides hordes of homemade boats, each packed full of shouting passengers covered in face paint and body armor, toward civilization. And slowly, before they reach their destination -- the boats begin to sink.

All of them, one by one. It’s inevitable.

Ever since moving pictures began, Main Street U.S.A.’s neon-lighted movie theaters have provided a beloved escape for small town residents.

As Rosebud County’s only theater, the Roxy has been a cultural mainstay ever since it replaced Forsyth’s old silent film theater back in 1930.

Owner Michael Blakesley’s history with the Roxy doesn’t go back quite that far; he started working as a projectionist there in 1975 and bought the theater with his brother-in-law four years later. He became the sole owner in 1992 after his brother-in-law moved to Havre.