Problem

If this store closes in Oakes, our community will be impacted in several ways:

6 full-time positions and 15 part-time positions will be lost
Our local business owners will be impacted as having a ShopKo made Oakes an attractive stop for visitors
The quality of life of our residents will be impacted
 

ShopKo is failing to see the benefit of remaining open in a vibrant rural community like Oakes, ND.

 

We have several reasons that our community is the hub of SE North Dakota. Being the only larger community along Highway 1 between Interstate 94 and South Dakota, many people stop in Oakes when passing through.

 

Our medical community includes a hospital, 2 clinics and a dialysis center, which drives out-of-town visitors to our community.

 

We have many local businesses that are established and successful. The people that shop in those stores also shop at ShopKo.

 

Finally, our community, like most rural communities, is not expecting population growth, but we’re also not declining at the rate of many others.

 

If this store closes and the closest ShopKo is 60 miles away, our community members will simply travel the 10 miles more to get to a WalMart or Target, instead. The company won’t capture any of the lost local revenue through another store.

 

Keeping this store open isn’t only good for Oakes, it’s good for ShopKo.

The Solution

 Consider keeping the store in Oakes open or engage our community in a discussion to see what can be done about the store closing.

Personal Story

Living in a rural community and having a retail store like Shopko means when my son has grown out of a pair of dress pants for a school program I only have a few miles to go rather than 70 miles to the nearest store. Or needing supplies for a project that is due tomorrow that was forgotten about. The loss that our town will feel with the store closing will be felt throughout SE North Dakota.