North Dakota produce at a local farmers market. Photo Courtesy of Sue Balcom. Used with permission.

A growing consumer appetite for foods grown in their region was the focus of a recent Food and Agricultural Council (FAC) meeting in Valley City, North Dakota.  FAC Chairman, Jasper Schneider, also state director of USDA Rural Development, invited healthy food activists to share the ups and downs of this growing movement. Read more »

Lidgerwood kindergarten students planting one of seven Hackberry trees donated by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

After a long, blizzard-filled winter, Earth Day was celebrated April 29 in Lidgerwood, North Dakota.  USDA Rural Development delivered the latest in a number of loans and grants to help offset the cost of a $1.58 million project to provide safe drinking water to the city.  Lidgerwood’s leaders first learned of arsenic in their water supply twenty-three years ago.  After a number of other methods failed to solve the problem, the city eventually joined a regional rural water district.  Rural Development North Dakota State Director, Jasper Schneider said the USDA is proud to partner with the city and other funding sources to make safe and reliable water a reality for its 700 citizens. Read more »

USDA Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider, and staff, recently toured seven rural communities in southwestern North Dakota as part of USDA’s ongoing commitment to rural communities.  Schneider participated in conversations with community leaders to identify ways Rural Development programs can most effectively work to improve the quality of life and increase economic opportunity in the region. Read more »

Left to right: Greg Larson, SCRWD Board of Director; Jim Vander Vorst, State Line Water Cooperative; Kathleen Schneider, U.S. Senator Kent Conrad’s representative; Marion Houn, U.S. Senator Bryon Dorgan’s representative; Eric Volk, ND Rural Water Systems Association; Jasper Schneider, USDA Rural Development North Dakota State Director; Dave Koland, Executive Director of Garrison Diversion Conservancy District 11; Joe LaFave, SCRWD Board President; Congressman Earl Pomeroy; Doug Neibauer, Executive Director SCRWD; Harley Swenson, ND State Water Commission; Matt Burthold, USDA Rural Development Business Program Specialist; and Glenn McCrory, Emmons County Water Resource Board.

The day was hot and windy, but the mood on the banks of the Missouri River was electrifying as North Dakota USDA Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider joined Congressman Earl Pomeroy, South Central Regional Water District board members, farmers, ranchers, and city folk recently to witness the long-awaited groundbreaking for a new water treatment facility. Read more »

Written by Jane Grant, Public Information Officer

The spirit of the first Earth Day, 40 years ago, continued this year in Finley as North Dakota Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider joined Rural Utilities Representative John Padalino, Finley Mayor Larry Amundson, local leaders, and Finley school children and the community to celebrate the announcement of a water and environmental project totaling $1.7 million.

“USDA Rural Development is proud to be a partner in this project helping the city of Finley build and upgrade essential infrastructure demonstrating President Obama’s continued efforts to improve the quality of life for rural residents,” State Director Schneider said.

Manholes, sewer mains and sewer lines will be replaced, improving water quality for Finley residents.

The school children played a major role in celebrating Earth Day starting with Boy Scouts presenting  the colors and the students leading the Pledge of Allegiance.  They shared their ideas and rapped a song about how each person can play a role in creating a cleaner, healthier planet.  To demonstrate their commitment to the planet, the students walked back to school picking up trash along the way.

An American Linden tree was planted in Centennial Park, to serve as a reminder of Earth Day 2010.

North Dakota Rural Development State Director Jasper Schneider (left) shovels during a tree planting ceremony celebrating Earth Day 2010, in Finley, ND. Assisting are Finley Mayor Larry Amundson (center) and Special Assistant for Rural Utilities John Padalino (right).