Loose dogs, broken sidewalks, busted mailboxes and garbage are among the problems impeding delivery, according to mail carriers, who reported 42 "animal incidents" last year alone.

The U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and -- for the first time in 40 years -- eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.

Starting Nov. 1, the regional carrier will offer two weekly non-stop flights from the Rochester International Airport to Mesa, Ariz., the Post Bulletin reports. Allegiant Airlines ended its service from Rochester to Las Vegas in 2010 because of a lack of demand. The newspaper notes Mayo Clinic has a campus in a suburb of Phoenix.

More mail will soon be processed in the Twin Cities under a plan to consolidate facilities in Rochester, Duluth, Waite Park, Mankato and Bemidji. Some of the positions will be eliminated, but the Pioneer Press reports more than 200 new jobs could be available at the St. Paul Processing and Distribution Center in Eagan.

About 230 jobs will be affected as the U.S. Postal Service relocates its mail processing operations in Bemidji, Waite Park, Mankato, Duluth and Rochester to the Twin Cities. Retail operations will stay open.

The U.S. Postal Service is a national institution that needs to be preserved, says business contributor John J. Alexander. However, they could take a few lessons from the private sector ... Here's an open letter to their leadership.

The Post Bulletin reports oil in a fryer caught fire early Saturday morning. Guests at the Days Inn, above the downtown restaurant, were forced to evacuate for about two hours. Fortunately no was injured.

The total number of violent crimes reported in 2011 fell 8.3 percent from the year before, according to data published in the Post Bulletin. The executive director of a Rochester neighborhood advocacy group says "it's calmed down a lot from two years ago." However, the number of burglaries recorded last year went up 6 percent compared to 2010.