A recent proposal by the U.S. Postal Service aimed at saving $500 million a year calls for the reduction of hours at over 13,000 of its smallest offices nationally, including three locally.
               
Post offices in Dakota, Brownsville and Hokah are three of the 37 rural offices in southeastern Minnesota that won’t shutter entirely but will see a reduction from their usual eight-hour days. The Houston County News reports Eitzen is the other Houston County office included.

If the proposal sticks, the Hokah post office would drop to six business hours a day, while the Dakota and Brownsville offices would see their hours cut in half to four.

The USPS estimates the plan will save half a billion dollars each year once it’s fully implemented in 2014.

But last month, the U.S. Senate passed legislation making it more difficult to close rural post offices, instead asking the USPS to look at other ways in which to save money.