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ECHO - They might miss being able to visit the post office, grocery store and bank on the same walk, but residents of Echo said they've got nothing to complain about with Citizens State Bank's new location on the edge of town.

"It's a little far to walk, but I have no problems with it," said Jane Garvin, an Echo resident and volunteer at the local grocery store. "I think we can be happy we have a bank It's been part of the community forever."

The bank, now a branch of Citizens State Bank of Clara City, made the move to a newly-constructed building along Minnesota Highway 67 in January, said branch manager Joe Dahl. The business has settled in, Dahl said Monday, although some details like wallpaper trim and extra lobby seating are still being finished up.

Echo residents said Monday that keeping the bank in the community, plus new benefits like an ATM, outweighed having to travel an extra two or three blocks to get there.

Dahl said the location along the highway was chosen partly because it was less costly for the bank owners to build new, and the spot they picked along the meant more space for a drive-up window and an ATM.

Both those additions have been well received, he said.

"We had three cars waiting at the drive-through window one day. I'm surprised," he said.

The old bank building downtown now belongs to Echo Mayor Dan Larsen, who used to rent space in the building for an accounting office.

"We watched them build (the new bank)," said Echo resident Bart Burdette. Based on the building's footings, he said, "It looked like it was going to be a lot smaller than it is."

Dahl said the new bank is smaller than the old one, but it allows staff to be more efficient.

"We probably have about half the square footage of the old bank, but that building was expanded in the 1970s to fit seven employees," he said, instead of the three employees the Echo branch has today.

Dahl estimated that Citizens State Bank has been a part of Echo since at least the turn of the century. The bank changed hands twice, first becoming part of the Yellow Medicine County Bank and then Citizens State Bank of Clara City.

In some ways, the bank's move meant a loss for Echo's downtown area. Dahl said a lot of customers, especially older people, thought the new location was less convenient for pedestrians. Larsen said the old bank building actually has more space than he needs, although he's working on some possibilities for the property.

However, residents said, it's still a good thing that the bank stayed in the community. The new building offers some things the old one didn't.

"Now we have an ATM. That's a big plus," said Echo resident Bart Burdette.

The bank's presence is also important, both for the function it fills and as a local business.

"Just with the co-op in town, a bank is necessary," Larsen said.

The Echo bank, Dahl said, "is one of those things where if it ever leaves, it's almost like losing part of the town's identity, like your post office or your school." He said the branch draws customers both from Echo and from surrounding communities like Vesta, Belview, Wood Lake and Sacred Heart.

Garvin and Lynae Marotzke, owner of the Echo Cafe, said they also liked that Citizens State Bank stays active in the community.

Citizens State Bank is preparing for an open house on Thursday, Dahl said. The event includes lunch at the Echo Community Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and root beer floats at the bank, he said.