Lori Bergman transitioned her Double Dip Ice Creamery from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar store in North Platte's downtown Canteen District with help from the federal Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program coordinated by the Center for Rural Affairs. (Courtesy of the Center for Rural Affairs)

OMAHA — A federal program to help boost small rural businesses would be extended and enhanced under a bipartisan bill to be introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and a Democratic colleague from Minnesota.

The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program — created in the 2008 Farm Bill and overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — provides low-interest loans to eligible development organizations. Those funds fuel revolving loans that provide help to qualified rural micr

See Full Page