Des Moines, Iowa—In the wake of yesterday’s fierce winter storm, officials of the U.S. Postal Service’s Des Moines-based Hawkeye District have instructed their operations and delivery managers to use extreme caution when attempting to dispatch and deliver the mail. The district covers most of Iowa and the Illinois communities near the Quad Cities.

“Our employees take their jobs seriously, and take pride in reporting to work – regardless of the conditions,” said District Manager Gail Duba, “however, given the treacherous conditions on roads and in neighborhoods, we’re reminding employees that safety is paramount to delivering the mail.”

Duba expects delivery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, the Quad Cities and surrounding communities to be close to normal by week’s end. The Postal Service expects holiday mail volume to peak next Monday, Dec. 14.

Duba also called on residential and business customers to lend a helping hand to their local rural or city letter carrier. “Snow and ice on sidewalks and front porches present a serious safety challenge for our letter carriers across the region,” she said.

“Carriers will battle freezing temperatures, ice and snow throughout eastern Iowa and the Quad Cities,” Duba explained. “We urge customers to clear walkways, steps, porches, and around rural mailboxes whenever possible.”

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.