Bodee and his wife Alexandria were anxious to plant roots for their growing family. With a young son, and another one the way, they were ready to have a space of their own. The couple had never owned their own home, moving from rental to rental in Natrona County.

“Homeownership to me epitomizes the American dream to have something to show for all the hard work and sweat that you put into working whatever job you have. Having the ability to hang your hat somewhere you can call yours,” Bodee said.

Globally, more than a billion people count on coffee to power their day.  In rural Puerto Rico, USDA Rural Development is helping a small family-owned business power some of that coffee. 

Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative proposes to rebuild approximately 52 miles and construct 6 new miles of transmission line.  The proposed project will be in Lewis County, Missouri to Lee County, Iowa.

When Eileen Flanagan and John Cochrane moved to Vassalboro, Maine and founded their farm, Junction Garden LLC, they knew they had a lot to learn about diversified agriculture in Maine. As they developed their market farm and growing business, one goal stood out: “We were very clear that we wanted to reduce our carbon footprint and use renewable energy,” says Eileen. 

What is Stand-Alone Rental Assistance?

Decoupling Rental Assistance allows eligible USDA Rural Development Multifamily Housing (MFH) direct loan borrowers to continue receiving long-term rental assistance in exchange for agreeing to preserve and operate their multifamily property as affordable rural housing.

Eligible MFH direct loan borrowers whose loans are reaching natural mortgage maturity can enter into Section 521 Stand-Alone Rental Assistance (SARA) contracts after they have made the final payment on their direct loan.

On Aug. 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced it had awarded an $85,000 grant to the United Way of the Capital Region through its Rural Business Development Grants Program.

After a dozen years in her Franklin County home, lifelong Mainer Lucille thought she knew what to expect during bad weather. Therefore, when torrential rains struck Western Maine on June 29, 2023, she wasn’t particularly alarmed at first. Her home is located partway up a hill and not near any significant water source. But the rain sheeted down at up to two inches per hour, and suddenly the water started rising toward her house, something she’d never seen happen before. 

Before the Village of Honor improved its wastewater treatment system in 2022, the team that runs it dealt with frequent maintenance issues.

The system, which includes a series of treatment lagoons and other structures and components that lie at the northeastern edge of the village, functioned fairly well, but some equipment wasn’t up to modern standards. Mechanical arms agitated the lagoons to provide aeration, for example, and they were subject to a lot of problems.

People have been visiting the area surrounding the Village of L’Anse, which means “the cove” in French, to recreate, fish, camp and enjoy the water since long before the village’s founding in the 1870s.