14 hours ago
USDA Rural Development North Dakota Director Tom Campbell talks programs, budget and projects
Jun. 28—BISMARCK, N.D. — Tom Campbell said something he's enjoyed about becoming North Dakota's director of Rural Development as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been connecting with people in the state.
Part of his mission, he said, is to go into rural North Dakota and meet with people who would be applicants for Rural Development funding, as well as visiting projects the program has assisted to check on their progress.
"I'm really enjoying that," he said. "Every day I learn a lot."
Campbell was announced as state director at the
beginning of May
, chosen by U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins. Campbell is a potato farmer and politician who served as a North Dakota senator from 2013 to 2018.
Becoming the rural development director, he said, has included a slew of onboarding and getting to know his support staff. The program has shrunk in staff and budget as part of federal cuts, which has lessened the amount of funding it can give out, Campbell said.
The program's main focus is assisting rural North Dakotan projects, mostly through loans and grants. With budget season coming up and the budget cuts the program has faced, the number of grants the program can give out has lessened, he said. It's been challenging.
"That's a little bit frustrating," he said.
Though cuts have depleted some of what the program is able to offer, Campbell still encourages people to reach out and see what help is available to them. The program focuses on three different areas: community programs, single family housing programs and business and cooperative programs. The three divisions have more than 60 programs between them.
Campbell's main goal is to continue what the program has already been doing, further supporting its mission of helping rural North Dakotans, he said. The rural development program acts as a "behind the scenes" helping hand, he said, pushing rural projects forward. Some things the program has supported include housing, electric cooperatives, infrastructure, rural hospitals, fire stations, emergency vehicles, fiber optics, water projects and more.
One project Campbell has visited recently was in Park River, where the city has set up a daycare and preschool near its school.
Campbell's support staff and team in general have been quality people to work with, he said.
"They have a true, caring heart," he said. "They really, truly care about helping people out there."
Campbell said people are free to reach out to him via phone or email to see how Rural Development could assist them.
