A top U.S. Department of Agriculture official paid a visit to St. Clair County yesterday, meeting with local government officials about how the federal agency could help local communities. State Director of Rural Development Jason Allen spoke to the multitude of ways the USDA could help townships, villages, and cities throughout the region. For example, low-to-no interest USDA loans could be used by communities for infrastructure investments such as rural broadband internet. Allen says the USDA can also help secure funding for things such as new fire trucks, ambulances, and government buildings. The USDA’s rural development funds are available to communities with a population of up to 20,000 people, with priority given to lower income communities with less than 5500 people. Allen also says a major goal of the USDA is to provide more rural broadband access, saying it is one of the largest barriers to bringing back millenials to small communities.
