The US Postal Service is considering closing nearly 90 Minnesota locations, including at least a half-dozen in the Twin Cities, according to a list released Tuesday.

As part of the Postal Service's "Expanded Access Study," officials will conduct usage studies of about 3,700 retail locations nationwide. Most of the locations are in rural parts of the state, but some are in Minneapolis and St. Paul.


Click here to see the list of Minnesota Post Office locations under consideration for closure.

In Tuesday's announcement, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said more than 35 percent of the Postal Service's retail revenue comes from expanded access locations like grocery, drug, and office supply stores, as well as kiosks, ATMs and usps.com.

“Our customer’s habits have made it clear that they no longer require a physical post office to conduct most of their postal business,” Donahoe said in a statement.

Donahoe introduced the possibility of the Village Post Office, shops operated by local businesses, which would offer postal products and services such as stamps and flat-rate packaging.

In April, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported the Postal Service lost $8.5 billion last year largely due to peoples' use of the internet for paying bills and correspondence.