Health concern prompts sudden closure of New Prague post office

Health concerns inside the downtown New Prague post office have forced its sudden closure and shifted services provided from that leased location to a nearby city.

"It is an environmental concern caused from some remodeling the landlord was completing," United States Postal Service (USPS) spokeswoman Kristy Anderson said Saturday. "We can't speculate, but an environmental specialist is going in to test … to see if the building is clear for entry or if mitigation needs to be completed first."

Anderson added that "we are not sure how long that will take, but we are working to reduce the inconvenience to our customers as quickly as possible."

New Prague Postmaster Jorg Lewis was outside the post office at 124 E. Main St. on Saturday when a man wearing a hazmat suit and mask exited to talk with him, the New Prague Times reported.

All services at the New Prague post office have been moved about 15 miles to Belle Plaine. Customers can collect post office box items and other parcels and letters with photo identification. The Belle Plaine post office is located at 233 N. Meridian St. It's open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.

Mail and packages that were in the New Prague post office cannot be retrieved until the building is evaluated and deemed safe, the USPS said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482