Wyoming post offices studied for potential closure

Like so many things in Wyoming, delivering the mail tends to require more time, covering more miles, enduring more isolation and spending more money than almost any other state.

So it’s no surprise that Wyoming has quite a few post offices on a list released today by the U.S. Postal Service detailing outposts that are being studied for potential closure. Many of these post offices serve only a few people and are located far from anything else. But then again, isn’t that true for so much of our state?

Advocates of closures could certainly make a compelling case about the skewed cost-benefit ratio of keeping these post offices open. But for those living in one of these communities, a post office is often the hub of civic affairs — a place to run into a neighbor you might only see once every couple of months, and only then when you’re both checking the mail.

There’s certainly something wonderful about being able to mail a letter from Van Tassell, Wyo. (pop. 3) to Key West, Fla. and paying the same postage as a letter from Manhattan to Brooklyn. But that one-size-fits-all approach which has made our postal system such a unifying part of American culture is also part of why it struggles to cover costs.

For plenty more on the financial woes of the USPS, check out Devin Leonard’s fantastic May 26 story in Business Week, The U.S. Postal Service Nears Collapse. As bad as you might think it is for the USPS financially, the reality is probably worse.

In the meantime, check the list below to see if your neighborhood post office might be on the chopping block.

Contact Ruffin Prevost at 307-213-9321 or ruffin@wyofile.com.

Office	City	Zip Code
ALVA	ALVA	82711
ARVADA	ARVADA	82831
AUBURN	AUBURN	83111
CAPITOL STA	CHEYENNE	82001
CROWHEART	CROWHEART	82512
DEAVER	DEAVER	82421
DEVILS TOWER	DEVILS TOWER	82714
DIXON	DIXON	82323
EDGERTON	EDGERTON	82635
EMBLEM	EMBLEM	82422
FAIRVIEW	FAIRVIEW	83119
FRONTIER	FRONTIER	83121
FT WARREN AFB	FT WARREN AFB	82001
GRANGER	GRANGER	82934
GROVER	GROVER	83122
HARTVILLE	HARTVILLE	82215
HAWK SPRINGS	HAWK SPRINGS	82217
HORSE CREEK	HORSE CREEK	82061
HUNTLEY	HUNTLEY	82218
HYATTVILLE	HYATTVILLE	82428
JAY EM	JAY EM	82219
LANCE CREEK	LANCE CREEK	82222
LEITER	LEITER	82837
LINCH	LINCH	82640
LOST SPRINGS	LOST SPRINGS	82224
MANVILLE	MANVILLE	82227
OPAL	OPAL	83124
OTTO	OTTO	82434
PARKMAN	PARKMAN	82838
POWDER RIVER	POWDER RIVER	82648
RECLUSE	RECLUSE	82725
ROBERTSON	ROBERTSON	82944
SAVERY	SAVERY	82332
TIE SIDING	TIE SIDING	82084
VAN TASSELL	VAN TASSELL	82242
VETERAN	VETERAN	82243
WYARNO	WYARNO	82845