Rush Memorial Hospital is at the heart of the close-knit community of Rushville, Indiana. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the hospital faced unprecedented challenges, but they rose to the occasion and worked tirelessly to provide the medical care that their community needed.

In 2017, Union City, Indiana, started working on a project to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility. A visit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management revealed that the city's treatment facility was not in compliance with several health and sanitation policies, prompting the need for improvements. After a long and arduous journey, the city secured a loan of $8,344,000 and a grant of $4,685,000 from the USDA Rural Development for the Water and Waste Disposal Project. This was a much-needed relief for the city and a huge victory for everyone involved.

On Friday, December 15, 2023; we made Christmas wishes come true for more than 1,100 K-8 students, faculty, and staff at Jonesborough K-8 Elementary School. The elementary school hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for a brand new 147,000 square foot K-8 school. The Town of Jonesborough received more than $42 million in Community Facilities loans to construct this new building.

When team at the Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) polled area businesses, they heard a consistent message. Asked what they needed to thrive, business owners made it clear. They were looking for more training opportunities and resources right in the community. Washington County, Maine (often called “Sunrise County,” as the eastern most county in the continental U.S.) has seen some difficult economic changes over the last decade or two.

When Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) decided to expand its distance learning opportunities in December of 2019, the project was considered ambitious. By March 2020, the project was essential. 

Many of us don’t often think about where the electricity comes from that powers the lights in our home and charges our cell phones. However, residents living in communities powered by Kit Carson Electric Cooperative Inc. can see where their power comes from. It is provided by nearby solar panels.

In 2023, thanks in part to grant and loan funding from USDA Rural Development, the co-op met their goal for 100% daytime solar power.

December 13, 2023, was a happy day for the members of the Poodunck Snowmobile Club in Dixfield, Maine. That day they took delivery of their new trail grooming machine. The massive new Prinoth machine is state-of the art, replacing the club’s fifteen-year-old equipment. Trail maintenance is a constant effort for snowmobile clubs across Maine. There is cleanup, drainage work, and bridge repair to be done during the dry months. During the snow season, trails must be groomed after each snowfall and at other times to maintain the right conditions for the sport.

In southwestern Fallon County near Ismay, a long, gravel road crisscrosses a landscape reminiscent of the Badlands. Twenty miles down the road through a beautiful valley brings one to Crescent Cross Ranch, home to a fourth generation Montana ranching family, the Lanes. 

Their grass fed, grass finished Black Angus beef cattle are the source for a growing woman-owned rural small business - Lane Legacy Beef, owned by Katie Lane.