Slow mail concerns: Investigation launched into delivery times

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - If you’ve wondered about the timing of mail delivery to your house, you’re not alone. A Pierre woman has been experiencing delays with the postal service, and now, a lawmaker is stepping in to help.

From her home office in Pierre, Tanya Grassel-Krietlow relies on the postal service for many things, including a book club she facilitates for university students. She used to know her mailman by name.

“Had the same guy delivering my mail forever. He’d remark on my dogs,” Tanya said.

And the mail was reliable.

“Set your clock by when the mail was coming so you could get your mail out. Get your mail in,” Tanya explained.

Last summer, the mailman was gone, and new drivers would get lost. Gone were the days of a uniformed postal delivery worker, but inconsistent deliveries by someone in street clothes.

“Three days would be nothing, and four days there’d be like 5 things, and it’d be stuffed full,” Tanya said.

Despite sending out books even earlier, participants couldn’t get them in time. She tracked a package over 65 days enroute.

“October 17th. And it arrived on January 3rd,” Tanya said.

Tanya doesn’t blame the workers, but wonders what’s going on.

“Maybe it’s time we get back to the pony express in some parts of the country. They did a better job than the post office is doing today,” Senator Mike Rounds said.

Senator Rounds has heard of others’ mail delays and has experienced it himself.

“From my office in Rapid to my office in Pierre. Let’s see it goes from Rapid City, down to Denver. Then it crosses Nebraska and goes to Iowa. And then from Iowa it tries to make it up to Fargo, North Dakota, even in the wintertime, and then finally it ends up in Pierre. Really efficient, don’t you think? Bring it on, Inspector General, let’s get this thing fixed,” Rounds said.

A spokesperson for the postal workers union in Sioux Falls said those who are employed by the USPS are frustrated, too, adding:

A spokesperson for the postal service, based in Missouri, offered individual help, saying:

Dakota News Now spoke with a staff member of Senator Rounds’ office, and an investigation is underway. It’s in the early stages and will focus on postal processing centers that serve South Dakota.