Wyoming Postal Distribution Downsizes Again

Wyoming mail had begun taking the long route to rural homes. Longer than before that is.

Forget sorting in Casper or Cheyenne. Mail will soon travel back to Billings, Montana, or Denver then back up to Wyoming rural homes.

The U.S. post office has been in financial trouble for a while. This is a cost-cutting effort.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's Delivering for America plan is not new and has been hotly debated since 2021.

The idea is to, "achieve a break-even operating performance."

However, the postal service branch manager from Cheyenne says the plan will neither save money nor increase efficiency.

"What they're going to be doing is discriminating against rural communities for favor of urban communities," said Roberts.

Having heard enough from rural residents the Postal Board of Governors began limiting public comment at its meetings. That includes comments from postal workers, who will be hosting rallies across the U.S. in protest.

The National Association of State Election Directors sent a letter to DeJoy expressing "ongoing concerns" over important election mail.

"We're talking about medication. We're talking about lab work from doctors. We're talking about vet lab work. Hazardous materials," Roberts wrote. "All kinds of things that are being delayed. "

Wyoming's senator Sen. Cynthia Lummis, called the planned shifts a "laughable display of 'fiscal responsibility.'"

Senators John Barrasso, Cynthia Lummis and Congresswoman Harriet Hageman introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation – the Postal Operations Stay Timely and Local (POSTAL) Act, which prevents the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from closing, consolidating, or downgrading its processing and distribution centers (P&DC) nationwide if such an action would remove the sole P&DC within a state or negatively impact mail delivery.

“The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a lifeline in rural states like ours,” said Senator Barrasso. “The USPS’ outrageous proposal would close processing and distribution centers in Wyoming and lead to unnecessary delays. The people of Wyoming deserve to have access to a reliable and timely postal service. This bipartisan legislation will save jobs and ensure we continue to have access to these critical postal facilities in Wyoming.”