Postmaster General Visits Potential Closure Sites

INGOMAR, Mont. (AP) — The Postmaster General took his case for rural post office closures straight to those it will hurt most, telling Montana residents that thousands of post offices nationwide must be shuttered to cut costs.

Rural residents told Patrick Donahoe in Ingomar that cuts should be made elsewhere because their post offices provide a much-needed lifeline.

One woman from the southwestern Montana town of Basin said that if her post office closes, the next one is more than 10 miles away, making her regular trip to pick up mail much more costly.

Some 3,600 small post offices are up for closure. In Montana alone, about 80 small post offices are slated to be shuttered.

Donohoe's Montana visit is his first to a community specifically to hear their concerns about the impact of the proposed closings.