South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson says the U.S. Postal Service needs immediate fixes as residents report widespread delays, lost mail, and long lines at local post offices.
Johnson emphasized that local postal workers aren’t to blame, pointing instead to what he called poor leadership and flawed system changes. He said he has spoken with Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Sessions plans to raise South Dakota’s concerns with Postmaster General David Steiner.
Postal workers echoed Johnson’s criticism, saying they’ve long warned that management isn’t listening to frontline employees. At a packed meeting in Sioux Falls on Friday, residents shared stories of mail taking weeks to arrive and businesses described disruptions caused by unreliable service. Some companies are now hand‑delivering documents like W‑2s because they no longer trust the mail system.
Newspapers across the state are also reporting significant delivery delays, with the South Dakota NewsMedia Association calling the situation a “prairie fire.”
Johnson said he is giving Steiner until July—one year after he took office—to resolve the issues. If not, Johnson said he will call for Steiner’s resignation.
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