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Is your mail late in Kansas City? Here’s what you should do

Lebanon - Circa June 2022: USPS Post Office Mail Trucks. The Post Office is responsible for providing mail delivery.
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Reality Check is a Star series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@kcstar.com.

If you’re mail doesn’t arrive on time, you’re far from alone.

A federal audit found more than 64 million pieces of delayed mail in Kansas City between October 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. The United States Postal Service has said it doesn’t have enough employees to keep up.

This week, the USPS raised postal rates for the fourth time in the last 18 months. Local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, are calling on USPS to halt the increases.

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The USPS declined to comment on the record to The Star.

Here’s which Kansas City neighborhoods are waiting the longest, and what you should do if your mail isn’t arriving on time:

Which Kansas City neighborhoods are waiting longer?

These are the post offices that were hardest hit, according to the audit:

  • The Barry Woods Annex in the Northland had 1.6 million pieces of delayed mail
  • South Troost Station on the edge of Waldo and Marlborough had more than one million pieces of delayed mail
  • The James Crews Station in 18th and Vine was close behind with nearly 884,000 pieces of delayed mail

How late is ‘late’?

A first class letter is considered late if it hasn’t arrived five or more days after it was sent, according to the postal service website.

If your address has not received mail in two days or is not getting it on the same day for two weeks, the agency recommended reaching out.

How can I report mail issues?

Cleaver recommended reaching out to your congressional representative if you are not getting mail delivered.

“I think the public has to continue to do what they’re doing, which is let us know how difficult things are being made by the postal service,” Cleaver said.

You can also report issues to the U.S. Postal Service directly by calling or visiting your local post office or contacting the national organization at 1-800-275-8777 or submitting a form.

You can also track your mail using Informed Delivery.

This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 9:40 AM.

Eleanor Nash
The Kansas City Star
Eleanor Nash is a service journalism reporter at The Star. She covers transportation, local oddities and everything else residents need to know. A Kansas City native and graduate of Wellesley College, she previously worked at The Myrtle Beach Sun News in South Carolina and at KCUR. 
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