Rural communities want to tap federal funding. But it's hard to know where to start

President Biden gets a briefing in Lost Creek, Ky., after touring flood damage. He vowed that communities in the state would get help to rebuild after the disaster. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Mayor Laura Thomas knows there are a lot of federal programs that could help her small town of Jackson, Ky., recover from a series of recent disasters: two historic floods, a destructive ice storm and the pandemic.

The problem is: it's hard to know exactly where to start to go about getting the funding.