Shopko stores throughout Montana will be closing soon due to the company’s bankruptcy filing, and in addition to the loss of local jobs, Montana officials are advising gift card holders to redeem them soon.

Attorney General’s Office spokesman John Barnes said once the stores are closed, the gift cards will be useless.

“It’s unfortunate that the announcement came our recently that the chain was going bankrupt and the stores in Montana were closing,” said Barnes. “One of the things that our Office of Consumer Protection looked into was the matter of gift cards, because oftentimes when a store closes, that’s something that people forget about and it falls through the cracks.”

Barnes said the Attorney General’s office has been looking into the matter on behalf of Montana consumers.

“We have worked with the bankruptcy counsel from Shopko to pinpoint the deadline for utilizing cards, and that date is April 20th of this year,” he said. “We’re just spreading the word far and wide as much as we can to let people know that if you do have a Shopko gift card, between now and April 20th is the time to use it.”

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