USPS Is Closing 20+ Post Offices This Month
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The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is ruffling feathers. Just last month, the agency revealed it would be temporarily raising its mail prices ahead of the holidays “to help cover extra handling costs to ensure a successful peak season.” To counteract the holiday rush, the USPS is opening nearly a dozen new sorting and delivery centers. However, it’s also shuttering over 20 of its contract postal units.
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A contract postal unit (CPU) is a post office desk within a retail establishment, such as a grocery store or printing center. These are operated by the retailer, not official USPS mail clerks. They’re more common than you might think; however, a new notice from the USPS might make them extinct.
By the end of the month, a high number of CPUs are expected to close across the country.
“Through these contracts, CPUs can provide communities with additional access to some postal services, but they are independent businesses not directly operated by the Postal Service. Under the CPU contract terms, the Postal Service and CPU operators both agreed that either party can terminate the contract upon giving 120 days’ notice,” the USPS explained in a statement to Fox10 Phoenix .
Earlier this summer, several CPUS received notices of termination.
“We have exercised our right to do so in some cases where nearby post offices that are operated by the Postal Service are capable of serving the community directly. Doing so better enables us to fulfill our commitment to serve our communities with efficient and reliable access to retail services,” said the USPS.
More than 20 CPUs will be closing across the West and Great Plains this month. Keep reading to find out if your neighborhood location will be affected.
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
Bismarck, North Dakota
In Bismarck, three grocery store locations are ending their USPS services at the end of September, according to a local KFYRTV report. Shoppers will still be able to buy stamps at the customer service counters, but they’ll have to visit the main branch (located at 220 E. Rosser Ave. RM 112) to mail letters and packages.
All three satellite counters are inside Family Fare grocery stores located at:
- North 11th St.
- South Washington
- West Turnpike Ave.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Effective Sept. 30, USPS satellite counters inside Lewis Drug and Hy-Vee stores will terminate all services, per The Dakota Scout .
Hy-Vee locations:
- 1601 South Sycamore Avenue
- 1900 South Marion Road
- 3000 South Minnesota Avenue
- 3020 East 10th Street
- 4101 South Louise Avenue
Lewis Drug locations:
- 136 S. Phillips Ave.
- 1301 E. 10th St.
- 2700 W. 12th St.
- 2901 S. Minnesota Ave.
- 4409 E. 26th St.
- 5500 W. 41st St.
- 5830 E. Madison St.
- 6109 S. Louise Ave.
- 2525 S. Ellis Road
Los Angeles, California
A contract postal unit located at 818 N. Hill St. #3 is closing its doors after 26 years in business, reports CBS News. The Chinatown post office serves an elderly community and is the only nearby store in the neighborhood.
Phoenix, Arizona
A majority of satellite USPS offices are closing in the greater Phoenix area this month. Several small business owners confirmed the news to Fox10 Phoenix, citing Sept. 30 as their last day of USPS-related business. It’s unclear how many locations are closing at this time.
“We have hundreds of people that come through here daily,” said Pete Lesperance from Pinnacle Peak General Store. “It’s going to be a huge impact.”
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
RELATED: USPS Wants to Raise the Price of Your Mail Again—Here’s When It Could Happen .
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
RELATED: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Resigns—What It Means for the USPS and Your Mail .
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
