MILLVILLE, Minn. (KTTC/AP) -- Time is winding down on a moratorium to close 117 post offices around Minnesota. Sen. Al Franken, R-Minn., is giving a last ditch effort to keep the businesses afloat. And his efforts may be paying off, as the issue received some attention in Washington Wednesday. Sen. Franken authored an amendment for the postal reform bill.
For those living in larger cities, the impact of losing just one post office may not seem significant. But if just one is all your town has... it's a different story.
What can be said for many Minnesota towns, can be said in Millville. Small town Minnesota, is getting smaller. A looming reality for Millville, is the possibility of losing its post office.
"I don't know what the rest of the people in town are going to do. If they're going to deliver to every home or what. We don't know," said Millville resident Glenn Becklund.
Becklund says he would like the post office to stay.
"It does hurt the town immensely to lose the post office," he said. "Hammond lost their's a number of years ago. And it's not the easiest for the people."
Millville's post office is among 117 in Minnesota on the chopping block.
"I think they have to go to Washington and start chopping at the top," said Becklund.
In Washington, D.C., chopping may not have been the right term. The Senate passed legislation allowing financially strapped postal services, such as Millville, to avoid immediate bankruptcy. Passing 62 to 37, the issue now goes to the House.
The legislation will give the postal service an infusion of cash, and put off decisions about closing post offices and ending Saturday delivery. The bill gives 11-billion dollars to pay down debt and buyout 100,000 postal employees. It also halts the closure of 100 mail processing centers and bars any shutdowns before the November elections.
