After recently discovering that some Missouri residents along the Missouri-Iowa border have been assigned Iowa mailing addresses for decades, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has introduced legislation forcing the United States Postal Service to discontinue the practice in Missouri and anywhere in the United States.
According to research conducted by McCaskill’s office, some residents of Atchison, Clark, Harrison, Mercer, Putnam, Schuyler, and Scotland counties have been impacted, though the exact number of affected residents is unknown. Clark County Commissioners and residents have previously alerted the United States Postal Service of the issue and requested a change in the delivery routes, which is believed to be the reason for the bizarre situation. The issue could also be a problem in other areas along state borders across the country.
“Iowa’s nice and everything, but I’m pretty sure Missouri residents would prefer a Missouri mailing address,” McCaskill said. “If we can crack the human genome, I’m confident we can rework postal routes to not label people in the wrong state. This issue has caused everything from laughs to serious problems in Missouri, and it’s high time we fixed this permanently in my state and across the country.”
McCaskill had previously written Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan, highlighting the inconvenience and confusion for affected Missouri residents, and also raised the issue when she met with Ms. Brennan in November. A recent article detailed the story of a Missouri couple with an Iowa address who—after their house burned down—faced challenges with their insurance because of their address.
You may read the text of McCaskill’s new bill HERE.
