USDA awards $40 million for loans by development group

FAYETTE, Miss. - A community development group is being loaned up to $40 million that it can itself then lend to build hospitals, schools and other government and nonprofit facilities. U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Lisa Mensah announced funding Thursday to Hope Enterprise Corp. and Hope Credit Union at an event in Jefferson County.Hope is one of 26 groups awarded up to $401 million by the Department of Agriculture, low-cost loans that can be drawn down on a project-by-