INGOMAR (AP) — The top U.S. Postal Service official on Thursday took his case for rural post office closures straight to the people it will hurt most, telling residents in Montana's capital and in one of its smallest towns that up to 3,600 small post offices around the country need to be shuttered as part of cost-cutting moves.

Rural residents who traveled to Helena to meet Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe answered right back, saying cuts should be made elsewhere because their post offices provide a much-needed lifeline.

AP Photo/The Independent Record, Dylan Brown

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