Missouri businesses get $1M in federal loan help

A business in the Webster County town of Seymour is one of two Missouri companies to benefit from $1 million in federal loan assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill announced Wednesday.

Seymour-based The Tool Store & More is receiving $510,000 through The Seymour Bank, while El Dorado-Springs-based Harleman Global Utility Products in Cedar County is receiving $558,000 through Mid-Missouri Bank, according to a news release from McCaskill's office.

The loans are intended to go to businesses that will provide jobs, improve the economic climate, promote the conservation and use of water for aquaculture, or reduce reliance on nonrenewable energy sources and encourage development of renewable energy.

The funding is through USDA Rural Development's Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, and the loans are guaranteed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the USDA, the money is intended to bolster the existing private credit structure by guaranteeing loans that help establish and preserve quality jobs during the economic downturn.