business and industry guaranteed loan

A three day visit to Missouri, the “Show Me State” allowed me to join Janie Dunning, Rural Development State Director, to see how rural areas benefiting from infrastructure investments made possible through USDA Rural Development programs and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) financing.

During these hard economic times we know that one of the best ways to help aid our Country in the recovery process is to assist and build businesses that create jobs, and spur growth. In Wisconsin, we had the opportunity to celebrate and highlight our successful efforts from the past year.

USDA Rural Development Rural Business and Cooperative Programs Administrator, Judith Canales, joined U.S. Senator Herbert Kohl and USDA Rural Development Wisconsin State Director, Stan Gruszynski, at a luncheon event honoring Ridgestone Bank in Brookfield, Wis. Ridgestone Bank was the number one Business and Industry (B&I) Guaranteed Loan Program lender in the Nation in 2010.

Through passion, hard work, and support from USDA Rural Development, Legend Air Suspensions has become a national and international success.  Rural Development South Dakota State Director Elsie M. Meeks and Area Director Tim Potts visited the owner Jesse Jurrens recently to celebrate the accomplishments of his business, Independent Cycle Inc., dba Legend Air Suspensions.

USDA assisted the business through a Business and Industry Guaranteed loan in conjunction with First National Bank, Sturgis, South Dakota.  Mr. Jurrens credits his refinance with the help of Rural Development, increased efficiencies, dedicated employees and internal cost saving measures that made the business not only stabilize but grow their net income this last year.

A few years ago, RAM Trucking was mainly a hauler of building materials—but everyone knows what happened to the housing market. Yet, RAM Trucking is still on the road and more resilient than ever.

To safely steer his company when the economy began to slide, President Dale Latimer applied a basic principle of driving in hazardous conditions:  When the weather gets rough, keep your tires inflated to the right pressure and make sure you’ve got enough tread.  In this case, getting enough tread meant restructuring the company’s financing and accessing working capital to position for opportunities beyond the construction arena.

For the last 32 years, Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI), a non-profit social enterprise, has been dedicated to providing job opportunities for people with disabilities.  Founded in 1964 by John DuRand as an Occupational Training Center, MDI transitioned into an Affirmative Business in 1978.  Company leaders wanted to provide people, specifically people with disabilities, equal opportunity employment.

MDI is an AbilityOne program through which government products and services are set aside for people with disabilities.  With locations in St. Paul, Grand Rapids, and Hibbing, MDI currently employs 131 people, 70 of which are people with disabilities.

Hillsboro, a rural Kansas community of just over 2,400 residents is nestled between the North Cottonwood and South Cottonwood Rivers in Marion County.  Community leaders recently celebrated a groundbreaking in the frozen soils of central Kansas as the first step in the construction of their new community hospital.

The new 27,750 square foot facility will replace a 50-year old structure to provide health care to Hillsboro residents and serve nearby smaller communities as well.  The new hospital is a partnership between the City of Hillsboro and HMC/CAH and was made possible by a USDA Rural Development Recovery Act Business and Industry Loan Guarantee in the amount of $9,250,000 to the Bank of Hays.

We’re just finishing a trio of new videos introducing programs within the Rural Development mission area that can be used to support local and regional food systems.

Prairieland Dairy of Hallam, Nebraska had a vision: they wanted to expand their operation to meet growing demand for sustainable, source-verified products.  In their mind, Nebraskans needed fresh, wholesome milk products produced in their own backyard.  With the help of USDA’s Rural Development office and a Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan, Prairieland was able to secure a $650,000 loan through a community bank, and today they are marketing products made with “local, farm-fresh Nebraska milk.”

As a part of her recent trip to Maine, USDA Rural Development Administrator for Business and Cooperative Programs Judy Canales visited the Ocean Classroom Foundation, in Boothbay Harbor. This unique non-profit organization teaches its students, mostly young adults, life skills through learning how to sail and navigate the open sea.

Written by Utah State Director, Dave Conine and Public Information Coordinator Donna Birk

USDA Rural Development-Utah and Bank of Utah recently recognized Azure Elite, Wescor Inc. as “Recovery Act Project of the Year.”  Wescor was honored for its community leadership, vision and success, and its contribution to the mission of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Wescor can trace its roots back to 1966 when a group of fourteen Utah engineer faculty members founded it. Today Wescor is specialized in clinical laboratory equipment.