Minnesota lawmakers want answers on mail delivery failures

Northern MN USPS ‘overwhelmed’ with volume

Adding Amazon package delivery services in November has forced USPS workers to work at least 12 hours a day, with the volume of packages not slowing, according to one employee.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A group of Minnesota lawmakers have set their sights on the United States Postal Service (USPS) as mail delivery issues persist across the state.

Tuesday, Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar sent a request to the Inspector General, asking for an audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota Postal Service, due to persistent mail delivery issues across Minnesota.

The senators want the audit to look into staffing at post offices, what areas face the most disruptions, how well the postal service keeps customers aware of deliveries, and whether the post office can meet delivery demand.

Thursday, Representatives Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach, and Pete Stauber sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, asking for information on mail delivery issues in Carver, Minn.

This is the second time this year that the group of Republican lawmakers have pressed DeJoy to fix mail disruption issues in Minnesota.

It's far from the first time performance issues at the post office have met the ire of Minnesota lawmakers. FOX 9 has reported extensively on mail issues across the metro in recent years, particularly in the south metro.

Last week, FOX 9 got a peak behind the scenes of the uphill battle that postal workers face, with increasing demand due to Amazon deliveries. Dennis Nelson, a former postal worker, highlighted the grueling workload postal workers face, which has increased in part due to increased workload from Amazon deliveries.

For their part, the USPS has been sharing its nationwide performance metrics routinely with the public. In 2021, the postal service launched a 10-year plan to increase postal performance while maintaining "financial sustainability."

In a statement to FOX 9, a USPS spokesperson said: "USPS will carefully review communications from Minnesota elected officials and respond directly to them."