Let’s talk about small town wins

Hi friend,

Welcome to Resource Rural, where we share twice-monthly stories of rural Americans who are working hard to bring economic transformation to their towns, businesses, and families. 

Whether you’re a journalist, a peer in this space, or a small-town leader with a story to share, we welcome you to join us for a series on how small towns are leveraging once-in-a-generation federal funding to build rural infrastructure, create jobs, and aid our communities’ bottom line. 

Rural manufacturer expands competitive capacity with renewable energy grant

It is not a stretch to say that Adam Schaller, a hardworking business owner who operates Lakeshore Die Cast with his dad, is somewhat of a trendsetter in southwest Michigan’s quaint Village of Baroda. What began for Schaller a few years ago with a desire to mitigate a tax burden and reduce fixed costs has evolved into a solar-powered domino effect across the town of fewer than 1,000 residents.

“I have to compete with labor overseas, and I don’t want to reduce the labor cost here," Adam shared. "I want to employ more local people, I want good quality labor. So the opportunity to reduce the fixed cost of electricity, and taxes, really gives me an opportunity to grow my business locally and pay my employees more.”

See how Adam saves $70K a year through a Rural Energy for America Program grant.

Cocopah Indian Tribe turns convention and entertainment center into solar-powered revenue generator

The Cocopah Indian Tribe was prepared to cover the costs of building a solar farm to serve its rural Arizona reservation. But by working with a grant writer from Local First Arizona, the tribe received $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to cover the bulk of the costs for the project. 

“There’s more disposable income for the Tribe,” said Gary Magrino, the tribe’s business development manager. “We now have a lot of money we were going to put out. It’s hard dollars, because we’re not paying the utility company for that electricity,” Magrino said. “Over the course of 30 years it adds up to a significant amount. It can go into the parks and everything else the Tribe needs.”

Learn more about how the tribe plans to become more energy independent and reinvest their savings into community services for tribal members.

Arizona farmer creates jobs by reviving meat processing facility in small mining town

As a child, Scott Heartquist always knew where his food was coming from and he experienced first-hand the hard work that went into running a family farm. Now he and his wife hope to instill a similar work ethic in their kids, which is why they decided to start Heartquist Hollow Farm. 

When the Heartquists applied for and received a $200K USDA Meat Processing Expansion Grant, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, they knew they could create good jobs for their neighbors at the facility. 

“We’ve brought jobs out there that weren’t there before,” Heartquist said. “The capacity we’ve been pushing is huge.” You can read more about how local meat processing is crucial to communities like Scott’s here.

Georgia woman fights flooding with federal funding

Jacqueline “Jackie” Jones wasn’t looking for a second career when the Tennessee native settled in tiny Reidsville, Georgia. But she quickly found herself thrust into the position of local activist when the role practically washed up on her doorstep – or rather, up to her windowsills – with flooding that inundated her property.

Read how Jackie and her neighbors are using Inflation Reduction Act dollars to mitigate future flooding events.

“I no longer cry myself to sleep at night out of frustration and loneliness, feeling like nobody was listening to me or taking me seriously,” Jackie shared. “Through my work and volunteerism, my voice is finally being heard.”

What you can expect to see next 

This year, Resource Rural will be working with hundreds of rural storytellers and organizations to better understand the impact of federal funding on small towns and Native Nations. You can see our existing story collection here.

Through collaborative stories, we will collectively ensure that rural communities and local people see that their contributions are recognized and valued, and that more people learn about the inspiring ways in which rural and Indigenous people are using federal investments to make the places they live in and love stronger. 

We appreciate you being here. Do you know someone who should be seeing and sharing these stories? Tell them to follow along here.

Until next time, 

Resource Rural