Last updated on 2013.05.19
How can your inner megalomaniac not thrill to the news that you could buy an entire town for $799,000? 46 acres, including most of the buildings in beautiful Scenic, South Dakota, are for sale. The asking price is down from an original $3 million-holy cow! These people are ready to deal!
Scenic has just about everything you could ask for in a Wild West town: saloon, dance hall, c-store (cowboys need their Skoal and Dr. Pepper), couple houses, couple jails, even a post office. They just need people:
[Kathy] Jobgen, who has been the postmaster in Scenic for about 24 years, said she isn't worried about the post office being closed once the property is sold. She said her real concern is the time until a buyer is in the picture.
"I know when a buyer comes the post office will be OK, because they'll want us here, because it's good for the community," she said. "But it's tough, because we need residents to save it, and right now, we're sort of in a state of limbo" [Hannah Baker, "For $799,000, You Can Buy Town of Scenic," Rapid City Journal, 2011.07.25].
Oops-hold that thought (and hang onto that checkbook, Mrs. MC): according to Nathan Johnson of the Yankton Press & Dakotan, the U.S. Postal Service just issued a list of 80 South Dakota post offices it may close. Included on the list: Scenic.
Dang: the sale price for Scenic may have just dropped another $30,000.
Also worth noting on the closure list: my westerly neighbors in Canova, Carthage, and Winfred all stand to lose their post offices. That would send almost everyone in Miner County in to Howard for their mail. The Oldham-Ramona school district could end up ZIP-less, as both the Oldham and Ramona post offices make the list, as do Nunda and Sinai. State Rep. Stace Nelson also may lose his post office in Fulton.
Here's the full slate of post offices USPS may close or, where retail options are available, replace with limited-service "Village Post Offices."
City | Zip Code |
Agar | 57520 |
Allen | 57714 |
Andover | 57422 |
Ashton | 57424 |
Badger | 57214 |
Barnard | 57426 |
Belvidere | 57521 |
Brentford | 57429 |
Bullhead | 57621 |
Canova | 57321 |
Caputa | 57725 |
Carpenter | 57322 |
Carthage | 57323 |
Cavour | 57324 |
Claire City | 57224 |
Corona | 57227 |
Cresbard | 57435 |
Davis | 57021 |
Dimock | 57331 |
Eden | 57232 |
Enning | 57737 |
Fairburn | 57738 |
Frankfort | 57440 |
Fulton | 57340 |
Gann Valley | 57341 |
Glenham | 57631 |
Goodwin | 57238 |
Grenville | 57239 |
Hamill | 57534 |
Hazel | 57242 |
Henry | 57243 |
Herrick | 57538 |
Howes | 57748 |
Kranzburg | 57245 |
Lake City | 57247 |
Lantry | 57636 |
Lesterville | 57040 |
Letcher | 57359 |
Little Eagle | 57639 |
Manderson | 57756 |
Mansfield | 57460 |
Marvin | 57251 |
Meadow | 57644 |
Milesville | 57553 |
Mission Hill | 57046 |
Mound City | 57646 |
Norris | 57560 |
Nunda | 57050 |
Okreek | 57563 |
Oldham | 57051 |
Olivet | 57052 |
Onaka | 57466 |
Peever | 57257 |
Pierpont | 57468 |
Pringle | 57773 |
Ramona | 57054 |
Raymond | 57258 |
Redig | 57776 |
Ree Heights | 57371 |
Reva | 57651 |
Revillo | 57259 |
Ridgeview | 57652 |
Rockham | 57470 |
Saint Onge | 57779 |
Scenic | 57780 |
Seneca | 57473 |
Sinai | 57061 |
Spencer | 57374 |
Tolstoy | 57475 |
Turton | 57477 |
Utica | 57067 |
Vale | 57788 |
Volin | 57072 |
Wakpala | 57658 |
Wallace | 57272 |
Westport | 57481 |
White Owl | 57792 |
Winfred | 57076 |
Wood | 57585 |
Wounded Knee | 57794 |
I was surprised to see that Wentworth (57075) was not on the list. Seems like they could very easily be taken over by Madison's Post office without much change. I also saw R-Issa's is on the Committee dealing with this and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee....he has a net worth of over 250million I believe and he has been gunning to strip Federal Workers Pay, Rights, Benefits, Retirement, Sick Leave, Vacation and even bathroom break privileges. He has introduced several bills wanting federal employees to take a two week unpaid furlough non-consecutive... don't want them to qualify for unemployment. Also, I believe he was to cut the workforce by at least 10% and pay by 10% freeze pay for 5 years, and increase retirement premiums by about 4%. So, for every Federal Worker he is the Boogie Man.......
My understanding is that where a smaller post office exists, it will still have sorted mail in its boxes each day, but no full-time or part-time postmaster will be on duty, saving payroll expenses. Perhaps a rural carrier will simply stop each day and fill the boxes with automatically-sorted mail. In the case where a retail option is available, the boxes would be relocated into that retail location, which would also sell stamps and other Post Office services just like Lewis Drug offers.
Wentworth has a surprising number of rural route customers. Madison will have its hands full when Nunda, Ramona, Oldham, and Winfred close their offices. You will have to drive if you want services beyond stamps or a simple flat rate box.
This is just the beginning...
If the Guv. gets his way someone could probably purchase the entire state. Mail, hey we're just snails.