KS, MO have some of nation’s slowest mail delivery. Here’s what USPS is doing about it
The United States Postal Service is auditing four postal facilities in Kansas and Missouri this summer after reports of mail delays from residents and U.S. representatives.
The Kansas City area has been “significantly affected” by mail delays, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said in a Monday statement. Only 83% of mail in Kansas and Missouri arrived on time, the sixth worst out of 50 districts in the nation, according to data from the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency which oversees the USPS.
For years, U.S. representatives and senators in Kansas and Missouri have called for improved mail service, including Marshall, Jerry Moran, Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt, Sharice Davids, Emanuel Cleaver and Sam Graves.
In April 2023, Moran and Davids wrote in a joint letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, “In recent months, our offices have received a growing number of messages from Kansans concerned about missing mail, delayed postal delivery, and extended periods with no delivery service at all.”
The problem has persisted.
Cleaver has been critical of DeJoy, telling The Star in January, “I think that’s a bit frustrating for many of us, because I think DeJoy is actually creating a great deal of instability for USPS.”
The facilities under investigation are:
Hickman Mills Post Office in Kansas City
Robert L. Roberts Post Office in Kansas City, Kansas
Shawnee Mission Post Office in Mission
Kansas City Processing and Distribution Center
The USPS’s internal review team is already visiting the locations to see delivery procedures and facility conditions. Previous audits identified inefficiencies and gave recommendations on how local management should correct them.
They plan to release initial reports in mid-July and a detailed regional one in mid-August, according to Tara Linne, spokesperson for the USPS Department of Inspector General.
Late mail has been an ongoing issue for Kansas City area residents. In January, readers told The Star that they’ve missed out on wedding invitations or faced fines because mail they dropped off wasn’t postmarked in time.
Some Brookside residents coined the nickname “No Mail Mondays” after averaging less than three deliveries a week.
This isn’t the first time Kansas City’s postal system has come under scrutiny. A 2023 federal audit found more than 64 million pieces of delayed mail in Kansas City between Oct. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. Almost all of the delayed mail was found at Kansas City’s Processing and Distribution Center, which will be investigated again, alongside different post offices.
While the USPS said Josh Hawley requested the 2023 audit, the current one was initiated by “service performance concerns,” wrote Linne in an email.
Having mail issues?
In January, 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,” he 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.
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.
The agency recommended reaching out if your address has not received mail in two days or is not getting it on the same day of the week for two weeks.
Have more questions about government services in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
