BISMARCK, ND (KFYR) – Last week, the U.S. Postal Service announced a new cost-cutting plan that is expected to save three billion dollars a year. However, this plan could impact some areas that already experience delays in mail delivery. This change would affect rural areas here in North Dakota. The Postal Service said some deliveries could be delayed by up to a day.

Lois Mills lives in rural Burleigh County near Menoken and Moffit. She said she is having problems with her mail service. Mills said years ago the mail came promptly at 11 a.m., but things are different now.

“It can come between midnight and 6 p.m., and sometimes we don’t get it,” said Lois Mills of Burleigh County.

Mills said she’s noticed that the mail she and her family receive from out-of-state arrives faster than the mail they send through their mailbox. She said sometimes she has to drive to Bismarck to mail important letters.

“I’m going to drop it off at the Expressway post office because since we don’t know for sure if our mail will be picked up that day, it’s a guessing game,” Mills said.

For clients like Mills, the possibility of a plan with built-in delays is a real problem.

“Any change would impact the existing two-to-five-day service standard. This means all first-class mail will be delivered within two to five days, but mail to rural areas may take one day longer,” said Desai Abdul-Razzaaq, strategic communications, USPS Corporate Communications.

Mills said she doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but she said sometimes you have to get used to change.

The Postal Service is planning public hearings on the proposal. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the changes would not take effect until after Election Day.

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