Marion Newspaper Was Investigating Police Chief Before Raid
MARION, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - The owner and publisher of the Marion County Record says the newspaper was investigating the town’s police chief prior to last week’s raid by the Marion Police Department. Details about that investigation into the police chief were stored on the equipment seized by police. Publisher Eric Meyer says a staff reporter had been actively investigating Police Chief Gideon Cody before the execution of the search warrant. According to an interview with the newsletter the Handbasket, the paper received several tips that Cody had retired from his previous job at the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department because of misconduct. But there may be other issues at play. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says it is involved in an investigation into the newspaper for possible distribution of confidential criminal justice records.
(Additional reporting...)
Help Pours in for Marion County Newspaper After Police Raid
MARION, Kan. (KNS) - The Marion County Record is getting help to pay for its legal costs after the newspaper's office was raided by police. The Society of Professional Journalists has announced it will allocate $20,000 from its legal defense fund to assist the small-town paper. That comes after widespread condemnation of the raid from press freedom watchdog groups. The President of the Society of Professional Journalists, Clair Regan, says the action was violated the freedom of the press. “We were shocked and appalled to hear about it," she said. "We quickly took a look at the resources we have to offer journalists. We’re always eager to defend freedom of speech and of the press.”
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is defending the raid. KBI Diretor Tony Mattivi says he believes strongly in freedom of the press, but he also believes in the equal application of the law. He says the investigation into the newspaper is about the possible distribution of confidential criminal justice information.
(Additional reporting...)
UPDATE: Central Kansas Police Force Under Fire for Raiding Newspaper, Publisher's Home
MARION, Kan. (AP) — A small newspaper and a police department in Kansas are at the center of a dispute over freedom of speech that is being watched around the country after police raided the office of the local newspaper and the home of its owner and publisher. Officials with the Marion Police Department confiscated computers and cellphones in the Friday raid, prompting press freedom watchdogs to condemn the actions of local authorities as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution's protection for a free press. The Marion County Record's editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, worked with his staff Sunday to reconstruct stories, ads and other materials for its next edition Wednesday.
A search warrant tied Friday morning raids, led by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, to a dispute between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. She is accusing the newspaper of invading her privacy and illegally accessing information about her and her driving record and suggested that the newspaper targeted her after she threw Meyer and a reporter out of her restaurant during a political event. While Meyer saw Newell's complaints — which he said were untrue — as prompting the raids, he also believes the newspaper's aggressive coverage of local politics and issues played a role. He said the newspaper was examining Cody's past work with the Kansas City, Missouri, police as well. "This is the type of stuff that, you know, that Vladimir Putin does, that Third World dictators do," Meyer said during an interview in his office. "This is Gestapo tactics from World War II." Cody said Sunday that the raid was legal and tied to an investigation.
The raids occurred in a town of about 1,900 people, nestled among rolling prairie hills, about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, making the small weekly newspaper the latest to find itself in the headlines and possibly targeted for its reporting.
Last year in New Hampshire, the publisher of a weekly newspaper accused the state attorney general's office of government overreach after she was arrested for allegedly publishing advertisements for local races without properly marking them as political advertising. In Las Vegas, former Democratic elected official Robert Telles is scheduled to face trial in November for allegedly fatally stabbing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German after German wrote articles critical of Telles and his managerial conduct.
Meyer said that on Friday, one Record reporter suffered an injury to a finger when Cody wrested her cellphone out of her hand, according to the report. The newspaper's surveillance video showed officers reading that reporter her rights while Cody watched, though she wasn't arrested or detained. Newspaper employees were hustled out of the building while the search continued for more than 90 minutes, according to the footage.
Meanwhile, Meyer said, police simultaneously raided his home, seizing computers, his cellphone and the home's internet router.
But as Meyer fielded messages from reporters and editors as far away as London and reviewed footage from the newsroom's surveillance camera, Newell was receiving death threats from as far away, she said. She said the Record engages in "tabloid trash reporting" and was trying to hush her up. "I fully believe that the intent was to do harm and merely tarnish my reputation, and I think if had it been left at that, I don't think that it would have blown up as big as it was," Newell said in a telephone interview. Newell said she threw Meyer and the Record reporter out of the event for Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner at the request of others who are upset with the "toxic" newspaper. On the town's main street, one storefront included a handmade "Support Marion PD" sign."
The police chief and other officials also attended and were acknowledged at the reception, and the Marion Police Department highlighted the event on its Facebook page. LaTurner's office did not immediately return phone messages left Sunday at his Washington and district offices seeking comment. Newell said she believes the newspaper violated the law to get her personal information as it checked on the status of her driver's license following a 2008 drunken driving conviction and other driving violations.
The newspaper countered that it received that information unsolicited, which it verified through public online records. It eventually decided not to run a story because it wasn't sure the source who supplied it had obtained it legally. But the newspaper did run a story on the city council meeting, in which Newell herself confirmed she'd had a DUI conviction and that she had continued to drive even after her license was suspended.
A two-page search warrant, signed by a local judge, lists Newell as the victim of alleged crimes by the newspaper. When the newspaper asked for a copy of the probable cause affidavit required by law to issue a search warrant, the district court issued a signed statement saying no such affidavit was on file, the Record reported.
Cody, the police chief, indicated that probable cause affidavits were used to get the search warrants. When asked for a copy, Cody replied in an email late Sunday that the affidavits would be available "once charges are filed." Cody defended the raid, saying in an email to The Associated Press that while federal law usually requires a subpoena — not just a search warrant — to raid a newsroom, there is an exception "when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing." Cody did not give details about what that alleged wrongdoing entailed. Cody, who was hired in late April as Marion's police chief after serving 24 years in the Kansas City police, did not respond to questions about how police believe Newell was victimized.
Press freedom and civil rights organizations said that police, the local prosecutor's office and the judge who signed off on the search warrant overstepped their authority. "It seems like one of the most aggressive police raids of a news organization or entity in quite some time," said Sharon Brett, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, adding that it seemed "quite an alarming abuse of authority." Seth Stern, director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement that the raid appeared to have violated federal law, the First Amendment, "and basic human decency."
"The anti-press rhetoric that's become so pervasive in this country has become more than just talk and is creating a dangerous environment for journalists trying to do their jobs," Stern said.
Meyer said he has been flooded with offers of help from press freedom groups and other news organizations. But he said what he and his staff need is more hours in the day to get their next edition put together. Both he and Newell are contemplating lawsuits — Newell against the newspaper and Meyer against the public officials who staged the raid. Meyer also blames the home raid for stressing his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her death on Saturday. Joan Meyer was the newspaper's co-owner. As for the criticism of the raid as a violation of First Amendment rights, Newell said her privacy rights were violated, and they are "just as important as anybody else's."
(-Earlier reporting-)
Central Kansas Police Force Sparks Firestorm by Raiding Newspaper, Publisher's Home
MARION, Kan. (ABC/NBC/CBS/WaPo/AP/KPR) — A small central Kansas police department is under fire and making national headlines for raiding a small newspaper and the home of its publisher. The Marion Police Department raided the offices of the Marion County Record on Friday, seizing the newspaper’s computers, phones and the personal cellphones of reporters. The raid has been condemned by press freedom watchdogs as a violation of the Constitution and an attack on freedom of the press. The raid was conducted after a search warrant was signed by a local judge.
Police also raided the home of Eric Meyer, the newspaper’s publisher and co-owner, seizing his computers and cellphone. Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, who co-owns the newspaper with her son and lives with him, collapsed and died on Saturday, a day after the raid. Eric Meyer blames her death on the stress of the police raid.
Meyer believes the raid was prompted by a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. Newell publicly accused the newspaper of using illegal means to get information about her drunk driving conviction. The newspaper denies the accusation.
A two-page search warrant, signed by a local judge, lists Kari Newell as the victim of alleged crimes by the newspaper. When the newspaper asked for a copy of the probable cause affidavit required to issue a search warrant, the district court issued a statement saying no such affidavit was on file.
NBC News reports that on Sunday, Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody defended the raid, saying there was reason to believe the newspaper was engaged in wrongdoing, but he did not give any details about the alleged wrongdoing.
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Kansas Cracks Down on Businesses Misclassifying Workers
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - State officials are allocating more resources to fight the misclassification of workers. The practice is used by employers to avoid paying employment taxes. The Kansas Department of Labor says worker classification fraud occurs when an employer intentionally classifies workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Nicole Struckhoff is deputy director of unemployment tax for the agency. “Intentionally misclassifying workers is illegal and does constitute tax and insurance evasion," she said. She says that misclassifying workers costs them protections such as minimum wage rules, overtime pay and unemployment insurance. The agency is hiring additional employees to investigate reports of the practice.
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Flags Lowered to Half-Staff in Honor of Fallen Kansas Police Officer
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Flags across Kansas are lowered to half-staff in memory of a Kansas police officer who died of wounds taken during a shooting in the Kansas City metro. Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags in Kansas to be flown at half-staff from sunup to sundown today (MON) in honor of Jonah Oswald. The 29-year-old Fairway police officer died from wounds he suffered in a shootout with suspected car thieves. KSNT reports that Oswald was a four-year veteran of the Fairway Police Department. His funeral will be held today (MON) in Lenexa.
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Kansas Needs More Nurses; KU Tries to Address Challenge
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — The University of Kansas has launched an initiative to help address a critical shortage of nurses. This comes as Kansas hospitals see their highest nurse vacancy rates in decades. The new Kansas Nursing Workforce Center will expand partnerships with community colleges to encourage more people to enter the field. Director Amy Garcia says the center will also work with employers to try to reduce the number of nurses who quit. “Roughly 75% of nurses report burnout," she said. She says shoring up the state’s nursing workforce is particularly vital to keep rural hospitals open.
The new center will try to get more people to enter the nursing field and expand programs for specialty training. Garcia says an aging nurse workforce and high rates of burnout have led to an exodus of nurses in Kansas and elsewhere. “Our experience with COVID was pretty devastating across the state," she said. "So, we need to work on bringing people into nursing, keeping experienced nurses, and planning carefully for those who retire.” According to the Kansas Department of Labor, by 2026, Kansas will need an additional 18,000 nurses, 28,000 nursing assistants and 6,000 home health aides.
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Hit and Run Leaves One Man Dead in Johnson County
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) — A pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Johnson County over the weekend. The Kansas Highway Patrol says an unknown vehicle struck a pedestrian drove away. It happened early Saturday morning on I-35, north of Santa Fe. KWCH TV reports the victim was identified as 27-year old Maxwell Michael Pozek. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Truck Hits Pedestrian on I-70 in Douglas County
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a man running across a highway Saturday afternoon was hit by a truck in Douglas County. Authorities say a semi-truck and trailer traveling east on I-70 struck a pedestrian who was running across the interstate. KAKE TV reports that the 40-year-old victim was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital but could not confirm whether the man died from his injuries.
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Country Stampede Moving Out of Topeka?
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Country Stampede's five-year run in Topeka may be coming to an end. Organizers of the three-day music festival say they are requesting proposals from surrounding communities to host future events. The Country Stampede used to be held at Tuttle Creek State Park near Manhattan, but in 2019, it moved to Heartland Park in Topeka. But that site may no longer be an option. After losing a tax battle with Shawnee County, the owner of Heartland Park says the facility may close. That would leave the Country Stampede searching for a new home.
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PACT Act Application Deadline Extended for Veterans with Disabilities
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — An important deadline has been extended for veterans hoping to file for disability benefits. The PACT Act - or Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins - Act allows veterans to receive benefits retroactively for their disabilities. Due to problems with its website, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has extended the application deadline until midnight tonight (MON). The new deadline allows veterans to have their disability benefits backdated one year -- to when the PACT Act was first signed into law. There are no deadlines for future claims. This legislation is aimed at assisting veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service. (Learn more.)
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Senior Citizens in Rural Kansas Struggle with Transportation Issues
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — Senior citizens who want to live in the same rural towns where they grew up face a growing problem - how to get around. Unreliable transportation means many seniors have trouble shopping for groceries, visiting family members and getting to medical appointments. Some cities in southwest Kansas, like Liberal, have senior centers equipped to help clients get around, but group transportation isn’t always available in smaller towns.
The problem of unreliable transportation for seniors occurs in town after town, not just in Kansas but across rural America.
More than 46 million Americans live in rural areas, and that population is older and sicker than urban populations. According to a recent CDC report, people in rural communities are at higher risk of death from accidents and injuries because of the distance to emergency care and health specialists.
Considering that 1 in 5 Americans will be over the age of 65 by 2030, the transportation problems that older rural Kansans face portend a looming shortage of mobility options for seniors who want to age in place. That means a growing number of people will have trouble getting around to visit the doctor, grocery store or family members. (Read more.)
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Kansas Has Five Drive-In Movie Theaters; a Sixth May Be Coming Soon
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — People of a certain age will remember drive-in movie theaters. Once wildly popular across the country, drive-in movie theaters have largely disappeared. However, there are still a few places in Kansas where you can enjoy this entertainment experience. KSNT reports that a handful of drive-ins remain active in the Sunflower State. According to DriveInMovie.com, Kansas has five such theaters. They are located in Wichita, Paola, Kanopolis, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kansas. Another drive-in is planned soon in Trego County, in the western part of the state.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. You can also follow KPR News on Twitter.