We don’t blame the rank-and-file delivery staff. It sounds like they’ve got their hands full. Rather, this is a top-down problem.
Give credit to Sen. John Hoeven for trying to bring some sort of improvement to the region’s postal delivery service.
The North Dakota Republican convened a roundtable meeting late last month at Grand Forks’ City Hall, bringing together three representatives from the United States Postal Service, plus North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe, Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski, Horace City Administrator Brent Holper and North Dakota Newspaper Association Executive Director Cecile Wehrman. Several of the roundtable members had complaints, but Wehrman was the most vocal.
To say newspapers are seeing issues with mail service is an understatement. Unfortunately, the concerns of Wehrman, speaking on behalf of all newspapers in North Dakota, were not allayed. Notably, the USPS representatives said the NDNA’s expectation of next-day mail delivery is unrealistic, noting that two to nine days is the new standard.