Pete Sessions

USPS package delivery in Sioux Falls has improved to over 90% on-time, but regional "choke points" still cause significant delays.

Lawmakers identified major issues at regional hubs like St. Louis and Kansas City as the primary source of mail slowdowns affecting South Dakota.

A new high-speed package sorter is expected to be installed at the Sioux Falls distribution center in June to improve local delivery.

Although the United States Postal Service (USPS) mail service in Sioux Falls is now delivering packages at more than 90%, according to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, regional “choke points” still pose significant issues overall.

In Sioux Falls and South Dakota specifically, service has slightly improved during the last 18 months, Johnson told reporters following a private tour Thursday, April 2, at the Sioux Falls USPS Distribution and Processing Center, accompanied by Pete Sessions, Texas Representative and chair of the House subcommittee overseeing USPS.

The tour comes about 3.5 months after Johnson led a roundtable discussion surrounding the mounting frustration with USPS delays, missed medications, lost checks, overflowing mailboxes and long lines at the post office.

During that previous roundtable discussion, Sessions pledged immediate involvement to make sure South Dakotans’ voices are also heard.

Sessions, having traveled to Sioux Falls from Texas, accompanied Johnson on the tour, hoping to “shed some light on the struggles South Dakotans have been experiencing when it comes to the Postal Service,” said Kristin Blakley, Johnson’s communications director, in an email to the Argus Leader.

“For the last three or four months, Pete has been incredibly involved,” Johnson said. “His team is filled with experts. The chairman understands these problems, and in part because of his help, I think there have been three big improvements.”

Johnson relayed that there are also three ongoing challenges regarding USPS operations.

"South Dakota service has improved, and now packages are being delivered more than 90% of the time, on time," Johnson said. "That's not good enough, but it is materially ahead of what we have seen."

'South Dakota is not the problem'

Both Congressmen also concluded that USPS facilities in Sioux Falls, as well as the state of South Dakota, do not seem to be the root of what they consider “a much broader issue entirely.”

“South Dakota is not the problem,” Johnson stated. “Our people are getting it done. Our facilities are getting it done.”

Sessions concurred with this, noting that he sees the same spirit of “great pride” in Sioux Falls that his community in Texas also possesses.

“We saw that at the postal operation center today… People who sincerely care,” Sessions stated. “I see this community as people who work together, who get things done.”

Both lawmakers said the biggest problems stem from regional distribution hubs such as St. Louis and Kansas City, where staffing shortages, outdated facilities and operational backlogs continue to delay mail before it reaches South Dakota.

USPS has been shifting its network toward larger regional hubs, which has caused widespread slowdowns since 2025. The agency has argued the changes are necessary to cut costs and avoid insolvency, but customers in states like South Dakota have seen some of the steepest service disruptions.

Johnson said the St. Louis distribution center has added 190 employees in recent weeks, which he described as “moving in the right direction.” Still, he said the USPS has yet to produce the “multi‑year, detailed plan” required to address long‑term challenges at major Midwestern hubs, such as “necessary” facility upgrades.

One major improvement Johnson relayed was a “massive” new USPS Parallel Induction Linear Sorter (PILS) at the distribution center in northern Sioux Falls, replacing a 27‑year‑old system. The machine is capable of handling 7,000 packages per hour up to 30 pounds, which would significantly reduce manual sorting.

The new Sioux Falls USPS PILS is expected to be installed in June.

“It's going to kind of transform delivery in South Dakota,” Johnson said.

‘Rattling the cage’

In addition to mail services being bogged down at the larger regional distribution centers, Johnson noted two other key issues with the USPS are: discontinuing mail services at all Hy-Vee and Lewis Drug stores and a lack of communication and transparency with USPS leadership.

“We've been rattling this cage for more than the last year,” Johnson said.

When the tour request was finally granted, Johnson expressed his frustration that the media were not allowed to accompany the tour.

“They have a story to tell,” Johnson said. “We can help them tell that story, but they also need to be willing to help themselves more.”

In late September 2025, USPS officials made the decision to end all USPS operations at Lewis Drug and Hy-Vee stores in Sioux Falls, Brandon, Tea and Harrisburg. The move was meant to be a better way to “fulfill our commitment to serve our communities with efficient and reliable access to retail services,” according to an emailed statement at the time from USPS Strategic Communications Specialist Tara Jarrett to the Argus Leader.

Johnson referred to this change as possibly “the single biggest mistake they have made in Sioux Falls with mail service.”

Johnson also reiterated this to media Thursday after the tour.

“Shutting down the Hy-Vee and Lewis service counters was a massive error,” Johnson said. “I have formally asked for them [USPS] to reverse that decision.”

Sessions also acknowledged that the USPS is “struggling”—much like other large organizations—to recruit workers, keep up with technology and adjust to population shifts.

“The system needs to work properly,” he said, emphasizing the growing importance of reliable delivery for mail‑order prescriptions and expanding package volume.

Sessions said shifting population patterns are adding pressure to the Postal Service, noting that “people are moving from larger cities to smaller cities,” which changes where customers — and employees — are located.

“These changes mean that the post office needs to adapt… Not only in their operations, but also in the number of people and where they’re located,” he said.

Another major driver of operational strain, Sessions said, has to do with what’s referred to as the “last mile,” - that final stretch from a post office or distribution center to someone’s home, farm, or business. Private carriers like UPS or FedEx can choose not to serve certain areas if it’s too costly. USPS is legally required to serve every address in the country, no matter how remote, rural and expensive it is to reach.

As a result, private carriers have increasingly relied on USPS for final delivery due to cost savings. The USPS makes those last-mile deliveries three to five times a week, regardless of volume. The partnership brings in revenue, but also forces the USPS to shift from smaller vehicles to larger trucks and vans, Sessions said.

A part of the solution

Sessions said Johnson left the meeting with “specific data and information that will help not only the post office but him communicate” with constituents about expected service improvements.

Sessions repeatedly credited Johnson for pushing for practical fixes rather than political criticism.

“What can we do to help? What can we do to be not a part of the problem, but a part of the solution?” he said, describing Johnson’s approach.

“There has been no issue that has emerged more emotionally and more aggressively in the last three years than complaints about the Postal Service,” Johnson said. "It is a relatively new and very hot issue, and I'm grateful that the Postal Service is making some of these investments in Sioux Falls and elsewhere in response to the complaints.”