Kansas Police Department and a Small Town Newspaper at Center of 1st Amendment Battle
MARION, Kan. (AP) — A small newspaper and a police department in Kansas are at the center of a dispute over freedom of speech as the newspaper struggled Monday to publish its next edition, days after police raided its office and the home of its owner and publisher. Officials with the Marion Police Department confiscated computers and cellphones from the publisher and staff of the Marion County Record in Friday's raid. On Monday, state authorities confirmed they are also involved in a criminal probe of the newspaper over allegations that it illegally obtained and used personal information about a local business owner. Friday's raids have been widely condemned by press freedom watchdogs as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution's protection for a free press.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly called the raids "concerning." An attorney for the newspaper deemed the searches and seizures illegal and said the police department's action "offends the constitutional protections the founding fathers gave the free press." The Society of Professional Journalists pledged $20,000 toward the newspaper's legal defense.
But some Marion residents hold a different view, accusing the newspaper of aggressive news coverage that has driven out businesses and painted a negative picture of the town of about 1,900 people.
Newspaper publisher and co-owner Eric Meyer said he believes the newspaper's dogged coverage of local politics and Police Chief Gideon Cody's record are the main reason for the raids. The Record was in the midst of digging into the newly hired chief's past as a Kansas City, Missouri, police captain when the raids were carried out, Meyer said, although the newspaper hasn't yet published a story.
The newspaper's attorney, Bernie Rhodes of Kansas City, sent a letter to Cody demanding that police not review any information on the computers or cellphones seized, saying they were taken illegally and contain identities of confidential sources. He also accuses Cody of misinterpreting laws on privacy and wrongly applying them to news reporters. "I can assure you that the Record will take every step to obtain relief for the damages your heavy-handed actions have already caused my client," Rhodes said.
The police searches appear to have been prompted by a complaint from a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell, who accused the newspaper of invading her privacy after it obtained copies of her driving record, including a 2008 drunken driving conviction. Newell says the newspaper targeted her after she ordered Meyer and a reporter out of her restaurant earlier this month during a political event.
Meyer says a source gave the newspaper the information unsolicited and that reporters verified it through public online records. The paper eventually decided not to run a story, but it did report on Newell's complaints about the newspaper's investigation at a city council meeting, where she publicly confirmed she'd had a DUI conviction and that she drove after her license was suspended.
The search warrant names Newell as a victim and lists the underlying reasons for the searches as suspicion of identity theft and "unlawful acts concerning computers."
Both Meyer and Newell have said they have fielded messages — and some threats — from as far away as London in the aftermath of the raids. Meyer worked with his staff Monday to reconstruct stories, ads and other materials for its next edition Wednesday.
Chief Cody defended the raid on the newsroom, saying it was conducted legally, while press freedom and civil rights organizations have said that police overstepped their authority.
Jared Smith, a lifelong Marion resident, said Monday that he supports the police raid. Smith accused the newspaper of ruining his wife's day spa business, which opened only a year ago, by digging into her past and discovering she had appeared nude in a magazine years before. That fact was repeated in the Record more than 20 times over a six-month period, Smith said. "The newspaper is supposed to be something that, yes, reports the news. But it's also a community newspaper," he said. "It's not, 'How can I slam this community and drive people away?' "
Authorities appeared unprepared for the public backlash to the raids, as involved agencies either refused to comment Monday or took pains to acknowledge the constitutional right to a free press while defending the ability of police to investigate journalists.
Cody referred questions Monday to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, saying it was leading the investigation. The state agency, in turn, refused to say it had taken over the investigation, referring instead to a statement saying it had "joined" the investigation and seemed to try to distance itself from the raids.
The state police agency said it had assigned an agent to the case at the request of Cody on August 8 — three days ahead of the raids — but did not apply for the search warrants and wasn't there when they were executed. While the agency declared freedom of the press as "a vanguard of American democracy," it also appeared to defend the actions of local police, saying: "No one is above the law, whether a public official or a representative of the media."
Both Meyer and Newell are contemplating lawsuits — Newell against the newspaper and Meyer against the public officials who carried out the search. Meyer also blames the raid at his home for stressing his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her death on Saturday. Joan Meyer was the newspaper's co-owner.
(-Related-)
EXPLAINER: Why Is a Police Raid on a Newspaper in Kansas So Unusual?
NEW YORK (AP/KPR) — Tensions between public officials and the press are hardly unusual. To a large extent, it's baked into their respective roles. What's rare in a democratic society is a police raid on a news organization's office or the home of its owner. So, when that happened late last week, it attracted the sort of national attention that the town of Marion, Kansas, is hardly used to.
The Marion Police Department took computers and cellphones from the office of the Marion County Record newspaper on Friday, and also entered the home of Eric Meyer, publisher and editor. The weekly newspaper serves a town of 1,900 people that is about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri.
Within two days, the raid drew the attention of some of the nation's largest media organizations, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, the New Yorker and the Gannett newspaper chain.
WHAT PROMPTED THIS ACTION?
Police said they had probable cause to believe there were violations of Kansas law, including one pertaining to identity theft, involving a woman named Kari Newell, according to a search warrant signed by Marion County District Court Magistrate Judge Laura Viar. Newell is a local restaurant owner — and no big fan of the newspaper — who had Meyer and one of his reporters thrown out of an event being held there for a local congressman. Newell said she believed the newspaper, acting on a tip, violated the law to get her personal information to check the status of her driver's license following a 2008 conviction for drunk driving. Meyer said the Record decided not to write about it, but when Newell revealed at a subsequent city council meeting that she had driven while her license was suspended, that was reported. Meyer also believes the newspaper's aggressive coverage of local issues, including the background of Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, played a part in the raid.
HOW UNUSUAL IS THIS?
It's exceedingly rare. In 2019, San Francisco police raided the home of Bryan Carmody, an independent journalist, seeking to find his source for a story about a police investigation into the sudden death of a local public official, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. San Francisco paid a settlement to Carmody as a result of the raid.
Police have confiscated material at newspapers, but usually because they are seeking evidence to help investigate someone else's crime, not a crime the journalists were allegedly involved in, said Clay Calvert, an expert on First Amendment law at the American Enterprise Institute. For example, when police raided the offices of James Madison University's student newspaper in 2010, they seized photos as part of a probe into a riot. The Marion raid "appears to have violated federal law, the First Amendment, and basic human decency," said Seth Stern, advocacy director for the Freedom of the Press Foundation. "Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves."
COULD THIS BE LEGAL?
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution asserts that Congress shall make no law "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Things get murkier when you get into specifics. Journalists gathering material for use in possible stories are protected by the federal Privacy Protection Act of 1980. For one thing, police need a subpoena — not just a search warrant — to conduct such a raid, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Cody acknowledged this, in an email to The Associated Press, but he said there is an exception "when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing." Gabe Rottman, lawyer for the Reporters Committee, said he's not sure Cody's reason for believing the so-called suspect exception applies here. In general, it does not apply to material used in the course of reporting, like draft stories or public documents that are being used to check on a news tip. The search warrant in this case was "significantly overbroad, improperly intrusive and possibly in violation of federal law," the Reporters Committee said in a letter to Cody that was signed by dozens of news organizations.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER SO MUCH TO JOURNALISTS?
It's important to speak out in this case "because we're just seeing in way too many countries around the world that democracy is being eroded bit by bit," said Kathy Kiely, Lee Hills chair of Free Press Studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Anger toward the press in the United States, often fueled by politicians, has grown in recent years, leading to concern about actions being taken to thwart news coverage. In April, an Oklahoma sheriff was among several county officials caught on tape discussing killing journalists and lynching Black people. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond later said there was no legal grounds to remove McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy. In June, two reporters for the Asheville Blade newspaper in North Carolina were found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing. The Freedom of Press Foundation said the reporters were arrested while covering a police sweep of a homeless encampment and arrested for being in the park after its 10 pm closing.
WHAT SUPPORT IS THERE FOR THE POLICE ACTION?
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation issued a statement Sunday stating that Director Tony Mattivi "believes very strongly that freedom of the press is a vanguard of American democracy." But the statement added that search warrants are common at places like law enforcement offices and city, county and state offices. "No one is above the law, whether a public official or a representative of the media," the statement read. Meyer said the agency has not contacted him or anyone at the newspaper. "I don't know what they've been told, but they haven't talked to us," he said. "They've heard one side of the story and haven't heard the other one."
==========
KC Tops List of Top U.S. Cities for Increasing Rents
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) — It's getting more expensive to rent in Kansas City. According to one nationwide study, rent got even more expensive over the past year. In fact, Kansas City showed the biggest increase in rents among 50 of the biggest cities in the U.S. The Kansas City Star reports that rent shot up 16% year over year, with a median monthly rent of nearly $1,700. The study was carried out by online apartment marketplace Rent.com. (Find the full report here.)
==========
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.
==========
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.
==========
More States Expect Schools to Keep Trans Girls Off Girls Teams as K-12 Classes Resume
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) — Children are heading back to classes and fall sports practices, and four more states are expecting their K-12 schools to keep transgender girls off their girls sports teams. Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming had new laws restricting transgender athletes in place before classes resumed, and a Missouri law takes effect at the end of this month. That brings the number of states with restrictions to 23. The restrictions have been imposed since 2020, and most are aimed at transgender girls. Almost all say other students and their parents can sue schools that don't enforce the restrictions. Principals and schools are expected to be the enforcers.
This year's new restrictions are part of a larger wave of legislation across the U.S. against transgender rights. Republican legislators in some states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, restricted transgender people's use of school and public restrooms, limited what public schools can teach about gender and sexuality and barred schools from requiring the use of a transgender student's preferred pronouns.
The sports laws have been imposed since 2020, and most are aimed at transgender girls. A majority cover less formal intramural contests organized within a single school's student body as well as contests among different schools, and some restrict transgender boys as well. Almost all say other students and their parents can sue schools that don't enforce the restrictions. Lawmakers expect a child's earliest birth certificate to determine which sports teams they can join. Principals and coaches are expected to be the enforcers.
In Oklahoma, where a law has been in place since 2022, athletes or their parents must file an annual affidavit "acknowledging the biological sex of the student at birth." Kansas and other states expect school officials to review a child's earliest birth certificate if questions arise about an athlete's eligibility.
Bill Faflick, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said his state's law has been greeted by a "matter of fact" acceptance in rules seminars for administrators and coaches. "It has not been met with any resistance and has not been met with any outpouring of support or opposition, one way or the other," Faflick said.
Even before the laws against transgender girls on girls teams passed, some states largely blocked the practice by handling questions or concerns on a case-by-case level at the school or state athletic association level.
Supporters of the restrictions argue that they're protecting fair competition and scholarship opportunities for young women that took decades to win. They say that well before puberty, boys have physical advantages over girls in speed, strength and lung capacity. "It's a puzzlement to me that more people aren't feeling sympathy for the girls whose sports careers are ruined," said Tom Horne, the elected Republican state school superintendent in Arizona, who is defending his state's law in federal court.
In Kansas, the State High School Activities Association recorded 11 transgender athletes during the 2022-23 school year, and three were trans girls.
Becky Pepper-Jackson appeared to be the only transgender girl seeking to play girls' sports in West Virginia in 2021 when the then-11-year-old and her mother, Heather Jackson, sued the state over its law. Because of their lawsuit, the West Virginia law is on hold, and Becky, now a 13-year-old entering eighth grade, threw the discus and the shot put in seven track meets this spring. The state is trying to persuade a federal appeals court to let it enforce its law, and in a filing last month, it cited the longer distances Becky threw this year as a reason. The state said any time another girl finished behind Becky in either event — more than 180 times — the other athlete had been unfairly "displaced."
Parents, doctors and LGBTQ+ rights advocates say restrictions on transgender athletes are less about sports and more about trying to make transgender kids disappear from society.
==========
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.)
==========
KU Announces Sweeping Renovations to Memorial Stadium and Football Complex
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas will begin sweeping renovations to Memorial Stadium and the Anderson Family Football Complex at the end of the football season, representing the first steps toward a new multi-use district on the edge of campus.
The school said Tuesday that it has set an initial fundraising goal of $300 million for the football changes and upgrades to Allen Fieldhouse, the historic home of the Jayhawks' basketball programs, which have already begun. The school said private funds will cover most of the project, and it already has secured about $165 million in gifts and commitments.
The school also received $35 million in ARPA funds appropriated by the Kansas legislature and will receive up to $50 million through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s University Challenge Grant program.
"The Gateway District is a once-in-a-generation project to transform our campus and drive economic development throughout the region,” said Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod, who was joined by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Jayhawks athletic director Travis Goff and football coach Lance Leipold for a news conference unveiling the latest plans for the project.
“It’s a great day for the university but really the community, our region and our state,” Girod said. “This is a project we have talked about for quite some time but really have moved toward reality in the last year or so.”
The first phase will include additional renovations to the Anderson Family Football Complex, which just weeks ago unveiled new locker rooms and training spaces, and construction on the southwest, west and north sides of the football stadium that includes a new conference center. The work will begin after the upcoming season and be completed by the start of the 2025 season.
The school has been trying for more than a decade to overhaul its football stadium, which is far below the standards of rival schools in the Big 12. But changes in the athletic administration, coupled with overwhelming fan apathy for a perennially poor football program at the basketball-mad school, had made it difficult to build support.
That changed with the arrival of forward-thinking Goff, who along with pushing the project forward also hired Leipold, who last year led the Jayhawks to a .500 regular-season record and their first bowl game since the 2008 season.
“We have a proud history,” Goff said, “but this unprecedented investment makes a powerful statement about an even brighter future and provides far-reaching impact for our university community, fans and football program.”
Goff said that seating in the bowl area would be about 100 feet closer to the field — a significant gap has existed ever since the school removed the old running track — and about 70% of the stadium will be replaced. The construction will force Kansas to play with a dramatically reduced capacity next season, but games will still be played at Memorial Stadium.
“We will have in essence a new football stadium,” Goff said.
The construction is about more than just the football program, though.
Future phases will overhaul the south and east portions of the stadium but also develop multi-use spaces that include a mix of amenities — such as retail spaces, entertainment venues, office spaces and lodging — that can drive year-round revenue.
“This project will help us continue to meet all our missions and grow in every single way,” Girod said. “As I told someone earlier, every project has its time. And this is a project that we've been talking about — we had a big announcement two weeks before I took this job, and that was seven years ago. We needed the right time and the right leaders, and we have that.”
“It's really excited to be at this point,” Girod said. “We know this is going to be game-changing for us.”
==========
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.