USPS to pause changes in Grand Forks and Bismarck until 2025

May 13—GRAND FORKS — Changes to the Grand Forks and Bismarck post offices will be postponed until at least January, according to a letter sent by the United States postmaster general in response to concerns by U.S. senators about the agency's facility review process.

In the May 9 letter, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said any changes stemming from its facility reviews would be put on pause until at least 2025. In North Dakota, the proposed changes would mean that almost all regional and package mail processing for the entire state would be centralized in Fargo, with Grand Forks and Bismarck being repositioned

as local processing centers.

In the letter, DeJoy said the facility reviews are a "process of transparency, where we have undertaken analysis, notified the public and interested stakeholders, and provided opportunities for public input."

In December,

the postal service did conduct a public meeting in Grand Forks,

but did little to notify anyone, including many local elected officials, that a meeting was to occur. While the public could comment, the postal service did not answer questions, including those raised by Sen. John Hoeven's western regional director, Shari Buck.

Earlier this month, senators — including both Hoeven and Sen. Kevin Cramer, both of whom are Republicans representing North Dakota — sent a letter to DeJoy to express their concerns and urge pausing the facility changes due to the impacts on local communities.

"This plan includes moving mail processing farther away from local communities, by transferring operations out of local facilities and into more distant hubs," said the letter, which was signed by more than 20 senators from both parties. "We are concerned about the impacts these changes have had so far, and the potential impacts that further changes could have."

The letter continued: "In regions where USPS has implemented significant changes, on-time mail delivery has declined. In addition, it is not clear these changes will improve efficiency or costs. Despite these concerns, USPS has moved forward with announcing and approving additional facility changes across the country."

In a statement, North Dakota's congressional delegation expressed their happiness with the decision.

"We are pleased that the Postal Service has agreed to our request to pause proposals to change how mail is processed in Grand Forks and Bismarck," the delegation said in a press release. "We have repeatedly outlined community concerns with the proposals and the need to make sure any processing changes actually improve mail service for customers. During the pause, we'll continue pressing USPS to make sure any potential changes to mail processing in the future work for the local communities."