There still may be a shack in my future. After all, these are the days when the mailman has to use a pack mule just to get the credit card statements to my front door. But one shack that is not in any of our futures is the RadioShack store on South Iowa Street. It has closed, as the longtime retailer tries to stave off national extinction.

I’m not sure when the store at 3221 Iowa Street actually closed, but I just noticed the removal of its large sign recently. Regardless, a posting on the door says the store is closed but directs customers to visit one of the two other RadioShack stores in Lawrence. Those are at The Malls Shopping Center at 23rd and Louisiana and at the Westridge Shopping Center at Sixth and Kasold. That’s right, Lawrence had three RadioShack stores. The company nationwide has almost 4,300 stores, which might be part of why the retailer is struggling so mightily. (That, and perhaps a misunderstanding of the sexiness of radio in today’s technology world, though they have done very well at beating back the competitive threat of Telegraph Hut.)

The Lawrence closing wasn’t unexpected. If you read the financial news (I mean other than the reams and reams of MasterCard statements), you already know that RadioShack executives carry moving boxes with them rather than briefcases. The company in March announced it wanted to close 1,100 stores, but that plan stalled as the company’s lender raised objections. In the meantime, RadioShack continued to lose about $30 million a month, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News.

That article reports January will be a key month for the chain’s future. The article reports the company is required to have at least $100 million in cash or borrowing capacity by Jan. 15 to stay in good standing with its lender. And when you have more than $840 million in debt, as RadioShack does, you want to stay in good standing with your lender.

So, if you are a fan of the other two RadioShack stores in town, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the company’s finances. I’ll try to keep an eye out for any news of a new retailer for the South Iowa Street location, which is right in front of the SuperTarget store.

In other news and notes from around town:

• In Lawrence political circles, there is a general saying that if you follow the money, you’ll usually find the victor. Usually, is the key word, though. Campaign finance reports recently have been filed for the two groups that campaigned for and against the proposed sales tax for a new police headquarters, which voters rejected in November.

As expected, the group campaigning to pass the sales tax spent a lot more in a losing cause. And I mean a lot. The reports show the Friends of Lawrence Police Inc. raised $23,950 compared to just $575 for the Lawrencians Against the New Police Headquarters.

The report shows that the pro-headquarters group received its nearly $24,000 in funding from about 50 contributors, although about $600 in funds came from an unspecified amount of contributors who gave small cash donations. Tom and Marilyn Dobski, who are owners of the area McDonald’s franchise, were the largest contributors. They gave $6,000 during a three-month period. Other large donors included: Cindy and Harry Herrington, an area CEO, $5,000; Colleen and Kevin O’Malley, an executive with Lawrence-based O’Malley Beverage, $1,000; Shannon Abrahamson, CPA, $1,000; the Lawrence Police Officers Association PAC, $1,000; and Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib and Kerri Khatib, $500.

On the other side of the coin, Lawrencians Against the New Police Headquarters had a smaller fundraising effort. Lawrence-based Wyatt Heating & Air Conditioning contributed $575 for the organization to purchase 100 yard signs. The organization then reimbursed Wyatt $344 after the organization collected about 25 miscellaneous cash donations. The report shows the largest single donation was $50 from a G. Robinson, presumably Greg Robinson, a Lawrence attorney who was an organizer of the group.