Bemidji, 3 other US Postal Service centers in Minnesota to close

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service plans to close four mail-processing centers in Minnesota as part of nationwide cutbacks.

The four centers in Minnesota are the same ones that the Postal Service said in September it was studying for possible closure. They are in Bemidji, Duluth, Rochester and Waite Park.

Nationwide, the agency plans to close 252 processing centers and slow first-class delivery next spring, because of steadily shrinking mail volume.

The cuts would close 252 of out 461 mail-processing centers across the country starting next April.

The Postal Service is planning $3 billion in reductions aimed at helping the agency avert bankruptcy next year.