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WATERLOO --- It turns out Rick Kimbley's next-to-last day as acting postmaster in Waterloo was a productive one.

After Friday, Kimbley will return to the Des Moines after three months in Waterloo, and he leaves behind a processing center that will remain open and active.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley announced that mail processing facilities in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids are no longer being considered for closure by the U.S. Postal Service.

The move preserves 150 positions at the Waterloo post office. Had a closure been ordered, those workers probably would have had to be placed elsewhere, perhaps out of town.

"It's a great day for the workers," said Kimbley, who Monday will give way as acting postmaster to Ron Ralph from the Cedar Rapids Post Office.

Kimbley was asked how long the local postal processing operation would remain open.

"The only information we have is it’s not being considered for consolidation at this time," he said.

The Waterloo center processes 300,000 to 500,000 pieces of mail daily, "depending on the day,” said Kimberly Karol, a 19 1/2-year employee who in January became local president of the American Postal Workers Union.

"We’re very pleased that it’s going to continue to process mail here," she said. "That’s really good news for the community and people that work here,” Karol said. "It’s also good for the communities we service, because we do processing for a large part of northeastern Iowa."

Karol, who became the top union representative in January after 15 years as vice president, also noted her colleagues have not gotten any indication how long the center will stay open.

"The postal service continues to have financial challenges, and they’re going to look at ways to meet those challenges," she said. "We still have some things to get resolved."

Braley made the announcement today “after multiple conversations with the United States Postal Service” according to a press release from his office.

"Braley has been fighting to save these facilities for months," the release continued.

"Rain, snow and sleet don’t stop our postal workers, and I’m proud to say that Washington bureaucrats won’t, either," Braley said. "I’m glad to see that the U.S. Postal Service has finally gotten the message that now is the wrong time to lay off hundreds of workers. We still have a lot of work to do to save more post offices around the state, but this is good news today for Iowa workers."

The USPS confirmed with Braley's office earlier this morning that the mail processing facilities in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids will remain open. Braley is a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has legislative authority over the USPS.

In September 2011, Rep. Braley sent a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe urging him not to close these facilities.

Evansdale

Evansdale residents also received good news recently, as far as postal service goes. A ruling by the Postal Regulatory Commission resuscitated hope the city’s post office could re-open.

The U.S. Postal Service and a related agency recently delivered some good new to the metro area.

The commission on Jan. 18 remanded the U.S. Postal Service’s decision to close the Evansdale Post Office for further consideration. A postal service spokesman says the agency is reviewing the decision.

Mayor Chad Deutsch, who appealed the closing along with resident Craig Chilton, is optimistic the office in the Evans Crossing strip mall will open again soon.

"I’m just ecstatic about the decision," Deutsch said. "It evidently confirms our arguments that it’s a busy post office and it wasn’t going to save money by closing it. I have faith the postal service will look at the facts and open it back up."

Whether that will happen is undetermined. The commission’s ruling only requires the postal service re-evaluate its decision to shutter the facility last October.

"(The Postal Service) is taking it under advisement. ... I’m waiting to see where we go from here," said Richard Watkins, USPS spokesman for much of Iowa.

Kimbley, said agency officials haven’t talked to him about the future of the Evansdale Post Office, which is a branch of the Waterloo Post Office.

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UPDATE: Postal workers relieved by word that mail processing operations staying open