An audit of Minnesota post office branches found delayed mail, safety issues and deficiencies in property conditions. Now, the U.S. Postal Service says it will perform an audit of the entire Minnesota-North Dakota District.

The audit looked at branches in Apple Valley, Eagan and New Brighton, as well as the St. Paul processing and distribution center, during a week in November, according to a new inspector general’s report.

The audits cited nearly 140,000 pieces of delayed mail, a lack of resources from management and poor security issues at the Eagan and Apple Valley facilities.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says the audit now provides evidence of what her constituents have been telling her.

“We know that one-quarter of the outbound trips from the St. Paul processing center were delayed,” Klobuchar said. “And they actually have some recommendations to reduce the number of late trips, to fix the transportation schedules, so there’s not so much congestion at the docks, which exacerbates the problem.”

Klobuchar says personnel training and hiring are also key to bringing better mail service to Minnesotans.