When a newspaper takes eight days to travel from Wessington Springs to Alpena, we have a problem.
Not a newspaper problem or a publisher problem, but a larger problem that affects much of rural South Dakota.
This week, South Dakota News Watch published an in-depth look at postal delivery challenges across our state (it is also published in this print and e-edition on PAGE FIVE). The reporting confirmed what many rural residents, businesses and newspaper publishers have been saying for years: mail service is becoming slower, less predictable and increasingly unequal depending on where you live. The data revealed significant differences in on-time delivery rates between more populated areas of South Dakota and many rural ZIP code regions.
In other words, the frustrations many of us have experienced are not isolated incidents. They are part of a larger trend.
In a recent survey conducted by the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, I shared examples from right here in our coverage area. What was once a one-day delivery from Wessington Springs to Gann Valley, just 24 miles away, had stretched to a week. To help ensure readers and advertisers receive their newspapers in a timely manner, for months I’ve been meeting a postal employee halfway between the two communities and hand-delivering bundles myself.
In another recent case, a newspaper mailed from Wessington Springs took eight days to reach Alpena, a community less than 18 miles away.
A newspaper mailed from Wessington Springs often arrives more quickly in some locations hundreds of miles away than it reaches a neighboring town.
That is not the level of service rural residents deserve.
To be clear, this is not a criticism of our local postal employees. The people working in our local post offices care deeply about the communities they serve and are doing the best they can within a system they did not create. The problem is larger than any one employee or post office. It stems from decisions made far from rural South Dakota by people who may never fully understand the realities of life in smalltown America.
In fact, many of us saw this coming.
When the United States Postal Service announced plans to downgrade the Dakota Central processing facility in Huron in 2024, I urged readers to voice their opposition. At the time, I worried the changes would result in slower delivery throughout our region. Unfortunately, those concerns have proven to be true.
Last fall, I traveled to Washington, D.C., alongside fellow South Dakota publisher Molly McRoberts and South Dakota NewsMedia Association Executive Director Dave Bordewyk to meet with members of South Dakota's congressional delegation. Postal delivery challenges were among the key issues we discussed with Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson. We shared stories from communities like ours because reliable mail service remains essential infrastructure in rural America.
And while newspapers often become the most visible example of delivery problems, they are hardly the only ones affected.
When mail slows down, prescriptions, payments, important legal documents and bills arrive late. Businesses wait longer to connect with customers and rural residents are left wondering when, or if, that important something will show up in their mailbox.
The True Dakotan has adapted to changing times. We continue to invest in our website, e-edition, email newsletters and social media platforms. We recognize that readers consume information in many different ways, and digital delivery will continue to play an important role in our future.
But many of our readers still love receiving a printed newspaper in the mail. They enjoy reading it at the kitchen table with their morning coffee. They clip photos of kids and grandchildren, save stories about community milestones and pass issues along to family members and friends. For many of our readers, the printed newspaper remains an important connection to local news and community life.
The challenges facing local newspapers are well documented. Rising printing costs, increasing postage rates and changing advertising habits have forced publishers across the country to make difficult decisions. I have experienced those realities firsthand, including the difficult decision to list my Main Street building for sale in order to strengthen the longterm sustainability of the newspaper.
Yet through all those challenges, one thing has not changed: the importance of local journalism and the communities it serves.
It is a record of our communities. It tells the stories of our neighbors, holds government accountable, celebrates accomplishments, chronicles history and helps connect people to one another.
Rural South Dakotans pay the same postage rates as everyone else. They deserve the same level of service. The News Watch reporting provides data that confirms what we have been experiencing all along.
The question is whether those making decisions about the future of our postal system are finally prepared to listen.