WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Pete Stauber and Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced legislation to require the U.S. Postal Service to implement recommendations made in a recent audit of the Bemidji Post Office.
The bipartisan Rural Mail Delivery Improvement Act was introduced in late May in Congress.
Numerous failures by district management and 78,948 pieces of delayed mail were just some of the findings in the audit report issued by the USPS Inspector General’s Office last month.
The audit performed in December 2023 echoes what Bemidji postal workers and community members said they were experiencing at that time after a sudden influx in packages from large third-party shipper — identified as Amazon by locals, but unnamed in the audit report.
According to the report, USPS headquarters failed to ask the Bemidji Post Office if it could handle the expected increase in volume. They also failed to tell the Bemidji Post Office about this agreement until eight days before third-party packages would start arriving.
The inspector general made five recommendations for improvements from the audit, but Postal Service leadership currently disagrees with two of the five.
Sen. Tina Smith sent a recent letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, where she called the findings damning and expressed shock at the Postal Service’s dispute with some of the recommendations.
"... You dispute [these recommendations], all which address the systemic failures to prepare the Bemidji facility for Amazon drop shipments, by stating that such procedures and strategies already exist. If they already existed, why did they not prevent the issues documented in Bemidji?”
In a news release, Stauber said his deep concerns about postal issues in Greater Minnesota have led him to request fixes of Postal Service leadership, but those seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
"Enough is enough. Decisive action must be taken immediately to improve the efficiency and reliability of mail delivery,” he said.
-
Contributed/MPCAThis smoke will initially impact far Northern Minnesota early Saturday afternoon, July 19, 2025, and then spread south and east through the rest of the day and into the evening. -
Contributed/Roseau River Wildlife Management AreaThe DNR still welcomes and encourages people to walk and bike through the area, which is part of the Pine to Prairie Birding Trail and home to roughly 150 bird species -
Scam Jam will include speakers on topics such as the tactics criminals use to commit fraud. It will also have a mini-expo for resources as well as a talk about Medicare fraud. -
Contributed/Tom Olmscheid / MinnPostThe verdict will almost certainly change the makeup of the state Senate, where Democrats currently hold a 34-33 majority. -
Andrew Dziengel/KAXEA bonus gift card program from the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce aims to generate $1 million in economic activity as the community continues to rebuild after the June 21 windstorm. -
Megan Buffington/KAXEThe Thunderhawk and the Warriors' spear-and-feather logo no longer need to be changed, thanks to a state law changing the exemption process for American Indian mascots. -
Contributed/iNaturalist user riversedgeDuring the Phenology Report for July 15, 2025, Staff Phenologist John Latimer gives a color-coded guide to July wildflowers and discusses the dangers of water hemlock. -
Contributed/Senate Media ServicesMitchell is hoping that a mix of just enough contrition and explanation for her erratic behavior will spur empathy from jurors, who may have experience with family upheaval. -
contributed/KCAW - Raven RadioThe McClears helped KAXE get on the air in 1976. They recently were back in Northern Minnesota and shared reflections on the station. -
Events this week include a car show in Grand Rapids, the Lakes Area Music Festival kickoff in Brainerd, Animal Tracks & Signs in Bagley and the Blackduck Woodcarvers Festival.
