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​USDA Also Invested $24 Million in 2010 to Help Community Expand Hospital

Belmond, Iowa, Apr 22, 2013 -- Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, was in Belmond today to congratulate community leaders on receiving a $5.5 million loan from USDA that will help them make improvements to their wastewater treatment facility. Today’s announcement is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy. The presentation coincides with Earth Day, an annual observation on April 22nd to raise awareness about the role each person can play to protect vital natural resources and safeguard the environment. 

​Lincoln, Nebraska, Dec 18, 2012 -- Infrastructure investments in rural communities help create jobs and boost economic development. “Quality hospitals, schools and libraries are the building blocks for a vibrant rural America,” said USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. That is true in Nebraska, especially with Critical Access Hospitals that serve our rural residents. Over the past seven federal fiscal years, USDA Rural Development has assisted 18 Critical Care Access hospitals in Nebraska, through nearly $197.5 million in funding. The Community Facilities funding came in the form of $64,851,000 in loan guarantees, $132,351,300 in direct loans and $250,030 in grants.

​Steve Koonce, a Civil Engineering Technician with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), remembers swimming in Tennessee’s Cane Creek as a youngster, when he and friends would jump from a bridge into the water 15 feet below. But today, because of a catastrophic erosion problem, that activity would be a lot more dangerous. “Today if you jumped off the same bridge, you would need a parachute,” says the Lauderdale County native.