Corbin named new postmaster

As Lois Verhelst completed her final day at Minneota Postmaster on Monday, Clark Corbin officially took over that position on Tuesday.

Corbin, who lives in Minneota, has been the Canby Postmaster for the past 31/2 years. Ironically, Verhelst had been the postmaster here while living in Canby until her recent retirement. "I'm very happy to be working in Minneota," said Corbin. "I know a lot of people in Minneota and look forward to seeing them in the post office."

Corbin becomes the 11th postmaster at Minneota. The others were John Jaschke, Joe Dero, Peter Verdeck, Lorna Rezmerski, Bruce Londgren, Paul Johnson, Wayne West, Dawn Jones, David Kallevig and Verhelst.

There have also been 10 Officers in Charge and Acting Postmasters at the Minneota Post Office.

While Verhelst was often described as outgoing and talkative, Corbin described himself as "more introverted and laid back" than his predecessor. Corbin grew up in Sioux Center, IA, and then attended college at Southwest State University (now SMSU).

He became a postal carrier in Rock Valley, IA, before transferring to the Marshall Post Office in 1994.

He and his wife, Jena, also moved to Minneota in 1994.

They have two children; Zac and Shelby. Corbin spent 15 years as a city mail carrier in Marshall before becoming a supervisor there for eight years. During that time, Corbin was also Officer in Charge of the Minneota Post Office in 2012 before Verhelst was hired as Postmaster.

He then took the Postmaster job in Canby. "There's really nothing that much different about the jobs in Canby and Minneota," he said.

"It should be a smooth transition." Corbin indicated the most difficult thing about his job is the winter weather. "It throws you a curveball sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it," he said.

"Roads get closed and it gets to be a safety concern for the drivers. And that leads to the mail being delivered late. For the most part, though, the customers are understanding."

If you venture into the post office, welcome Clark to his new position as Postmaster.