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D.C. (NewsDakota.com) North Dakota U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp secured a commitment from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s to help solve some of the postal challenges facing North Dakota. Heitkamp met with Donahoe along with Senator Tom Carper, the Chairman of the Committee overseeing the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Postmaster promised assistance in meeting hiring challenges in North Dakota and improved service for oil field housing units.

A key postal issue in western North Dakota has been the inability of many oil field workers to receive mail. Delivering mail to oil field housing units presents challenges, but Donahoe committed Wednesday to develop strategies to overcome this by setting up clusters of boxes and even developing new addresses as needed to provide access. Heitkamp thinks it is unacceptable that some of her constituents cannot receive mail, especially those who need prescriptions delivered. The economic expansion in western North Dakota has also led to increased staffing needs at local post offices and processing facilities. Donahoe said he would work with local hiring officials to get them the needed authority to hire additional employees.

During the meeting, Heitkamp also called on Carper and Donahoe to focus on the rural impact of any potential service changes, such as a switch to some form of five-day delivery. Heitkamp reiterated that she does not think a switch to five-day delivery would bring in the expected cost savings, and could be harmful to North Dakota small businesses and seniors.