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Post office
and Republic join to offer express mail service
Brainerd Daily Dispatch, Archives
The Brainerd
post office and Republic Airlines didn’t have
much in common until July 1 of this year.
On that day, express mail service began in
Brainerd, offering guaranteed next-day delivery
of a two-pound package for $9.35 to about 10,000
cities around the country.
Shortly after 5 p.m. each day, a republic
Airlines jet is loaded with Brainerd’s express
mail, bound for the Twin Cities. The flight
arrives in Minneapolis at about 7:15 p.m., and
the mail is further dispatched to more than 230
zip code areas.
“The idea has really taken off,” said Brainerd
Postmaster Don Rasmussen, during an interview
recently. “We handle about 22 pieces of express
mail every day—which is two and a half times
more than Bemidji.
“I’m proud about that,” he continued. “Since we
started, we’ve handled the third largest volume
of express mail in northern Minnesota.”
Before Rasmussen came to Brainerd 1-1/2 years
ago, next-day delivery was limited to only 35
zip code areas, through truck delivery. Only two
or three pieces of next-day delivery mail per
week were dispatched.
“The need had always been there,” Rasmussen
said. “We just couldn’t give people the service
they wanted.” A questionnaire he distributed to
local businesspeople last fall elicited several
positive responses—enough to warrant using the
airline.
However, Rasmussen said “We are limited. Our
next-day service area varies monthly, because of
airline schedule changes. Ideally, if the
Republic flight left Brainerd thirty to
forty-five minutes earlier, our next-day service
area would be increased immensely.”
He commented that the failure rate for the
service is only about two percent. “We strive
for 100 percent of the packages reaching their
destination,” Rasmussen said. “I only know of
three people who have applied for refunds since
July 1.”
The guarantee ensures that a package will be
delivered by 3 p.m., if mailed by 5 p.m. the
previous day. |
