Marion Police Chief Who Led Raid on Small Kansas Newspaper Resigns
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The police chief who led an August raid on a small weekly newspaper in central Kansas has resigned. He did so just days after he was suspended from his post and following the release of body camera video of the raid showing an officer searching the desk of a reporter investigating the chief's past. Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody's resignation was confirmed to The Associated Press both by Mayor Dave Mayfield and City Council member Ruth Herbel, following an announcement by Mayfield at Monday's council meeting. Mayfield had suspended Cody on Thursday for reasons that have not been made public. In a text message Monday night to the AP, he said he couldn't answer questions about the chief's resignation "as it is a personnel matter."
Cody stepped down weeks after a local prosecutor said that there wasn't sufficient evidence to justify the search of the Marion County Record or searches at the same time of the publisher's home and Herbel's home. The search of the newspaper put Marion, a town of 1,900 residents, at the center of a fierce national debate over press freedoms and cast an international spotlight on Cody and his tactics. Cody faces one federal lawsuit, and others are expected.
Cody did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment about his resignation. His resignation initially was reported by the Marion County Record and the Wichita Eagle. "It's long overdue. You know, we had to wait more than six weeks to get him suspended," said Eric Meyer, the Record's editor and publisher. "It kind of leads you to believe that there's some smoking gun somewhere that everybody knows about and we're going to try to get ahead of it."
Recently obtained body camera video from the search of the newspaper shows that after an officer rifled through a desk drawer of the reporter looking into Cody's background, he beckoned Cody over to look at the documents he'd found. The AP obtained the body camera video Monday through an open records request. Cody then says, "Keep a personal file on me. I don't care," the video shows. He's briefly seen bending over, apparently to look at the drawer, before the other officer's clipboard blocks the view of what the chief is doing.
Cody obtained warrants for the three raids by telling a judge that he had evidence of possible identity theft and other potential crimes tied to the circulation of information about a local restaurant owner's driving record. But the newspaper and its attorney have suggested he might have been trying to find out what it had learned about his past as a police captain in Kansas City, Missouri. "This was all about finding out who our sources were," Bernie Rhodes, the newspaper's attorney, said Monday.
Some legal experts believe the raids on the Record's office and Meyer's home violated a federal privacy law that protects journalists from having their newsrooms searched. Some believe it violated a Kansas law that makes it more difficult to force reporters and editors to disclose their sources and unpublished material. Herbel has called the search of her home illegal because of differences in the texts of the affidavit Cody used to get the warrant and the warrant itself. She said last month that she feared for her safety. "I'm glad we're rid of him," Herbel said.
Meyer blames the stress of the raids for the death the next day of his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, the paper's co-owner. While the newspaper has questioned Cody's motives, the body camera video shows him repeatedly telling newspaper staffers that he is investigating how it and Herbel obtained information about the owner of two local restaurants, Kari Newell. "It grew into a monster, and it's got your name on it," Cody told Record reporter Phyllis Zorn, who had verified information about Newell online, after reading Zorn her rights, one video shows.
The video was released to the AP through a Wichita law firm representing the city. The same firm has been representing Cody in the federal lawsuit against him, filed by Deb Gruver, the Record reporter who'd been looking into Cody's past, who recently left the newspaper. The video of Cody at Gruver's desk is from the body camera of Marion Police Officer Zach Hudlin. There appeared to be no corresponding video of the same moment from Cody's own camera.
The video shows that officers, led by Cody, searched the Record newsroom after interviewing Zorn, Gruver and the newspaper's business manager, and escorting them out of the building. Hudlin then goes through a drawer in Gruver's desk — after Gruver told the chief she had nothing to do with the reporting on Newell. Hudlin asks Cody, "You want to look through this desk?" Cody responds that Hudlin has the right to look through it, and Hudlin replies, "I know. I'm asking, do YOU want to look through this desk?" After Cody goes to the desk, Hudlin tells him, "You will understand shortly."
It's not clear from the video how closely Cody examined what was in the desk, and the object Hudlin found — described by Rhodes as a file on Cody's time in with the Kansas City, Missouri, police department. Cody retired from the Kansas City police in late April, around the time the Marion City Council interviewed him. He took a big cut in pay: The Kansas City police paid him nearly $116,000 a year, while the Marion job pays $60,000 annually. Meyer has said Cody knew weeks before the raids that the newspaper was looking into anonymous tips about why Cody retired from the Kansas City police. Meyer said when he asked Cody a question about it, Cody threatened a lawsuit.
==========
Kansas Health Officials: Olathe High School Student Has TB
OLATHE, Kan. (KPR/KCUR) - A student at Olathe Northwest High School has tested positive for tuberculosis. The Johnson County health department said the student is isolating and receiving treatment. It’s also begun identifying those who have come into contact with the student. The department will hold testing clinics at Olathe Northwest. It will also hold a forum at the school where tuberculosis experts will take questions from parents and students. The department said tuberculosis is typically treated for six to nine months with antibiotics. Wyandotte County also reported several cases last spring. TB is preventable, treatable and curable.
==========
Some Kansas Lawmakers: Public Schools Don't Need More Money for Special Education
TOPEKA, Kan. (KMUW/KNS) - Some state lawmakers say Kansas public schools don’t need more money for special education services. Members of a special committee on education met in Topeka today (MON) to hear testimony on education issues ahead of the next legislative session. When a speaker urged the group to fully fund special education, Republican Senator Molly Baumgardner said she’s tired of the criticism. “The drum being beat, just like this: ‘When are we gonna be funded? We don’t have enough funding. We don’t have reliable funding.’ We have heard that for five years," she said. Kansas law requires the state to provide 92% of the excess costs of special ed, but it pays about 71%. Republican Representative Kristey Williams, who chairs the committee, says districts have enough money in reserves to fund special education needs.
==========
Homeless 25-Year-Old Topeka Man Arrested in Rape and Killing of 5-Year-Old Girl
UNDATED (AP) — A homeless Kansas man has been arrested in the rape and killing of a 5-year-old girl, authorities said Tuesday.
Officers responded just before 6 p.m. Monday to a medical call at a Topeka gas station and found a fire crew attempting to save Zoey Felix, police said in a news release. She was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Investigators identified a 25-year-old man as a suspect and booked him into jail Tuesday morning on suspicion of first-degree murder and rape. His bond is set at $2 million and no attorney is listed for him, said Timothy Phelps, deputy director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.
No formal charges were immediately filed, court records show.
The news release said that the man was known to Zoey, but police spokesperson Rosie Nichols said she couldn't provide additional details on how.
She also declined to release information on the girl's cause of death.
==========
Kansas Gambling Revenue Up at 3 of 4 State-Owned Casinos
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - State gaming officials say gambling revenue is back to pre-COVID levels at three of the four state-owned casinos. Gambling revenue at casinos in Pittsburg, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kansas, have continued to increase and are back to pre-pandemic levels. However, Matt Schwartz of the Kansas Lottery says revenue at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane is still lagging because of competition. “The biggest factor in that obviously is the facility that went in in Park City that’s a pretty direct competitor just comparatively a few miles up the road.” The Wyandotte Nation opened the CrossWinds Casino in Park City north of Wichita in the spring of 2021.
==========
Kansas Tax Collections in September Come in $42 Million More than Expected
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Total tax collections for the month of September came in around $991 million. That's $42 million more than expected. Individual income tax collections came in 5.8% below estimates but corporate income tax collections were nearly 31% more than expected. Governor Laura Kelly touted the news saying her administration’s effort to put the state on a solid financial footing is working. She also said that now is the time to give money back to Kansans through responsible tax cuts. She plans to seek those tax cuts in the next legislative session, which begins in January.
==========
Deadly House Fire Claims Two Lives in Southwest Kansas
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (JC Post) — A deadly house fire has claimed two lives in southwest Kansas. Authorities say a blaze broke out over the weekend in Garden City. The JC Post reports that flames erupted around 2:30 Sunday morning (at 613 N. 9th Street). Two people were killed. Three other victims and a firefighter were treated for smoke inhalation.
First arriving crews found a multi-story residence with heavy fire and smoke. Firefighters made contact with three victims in the front yard who told them about additional victims inside. The fire was under control within an hour. The cause remains under investigation by the Garden City police and fire departments. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office is assisting. Authorities have not released the names of the victims.
==========
CEO of Spirit AeroSystems Resigns
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) — The president and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems has resigned. Tom Gentile has been with Spirit, Wichita's largest employer, for seven years. Gentile helped lead the company through the pandemic, when it laid off thousands of employees. The company has struggled over the last year with quality issues in its Boeing 737 program. Spirit had to repair a number of fuselages it shipped to Boeing. Spirit board member Patrick Shanahan will take over on an interim basis. The company says he has more than four decades of experience in the commercial and defense aviation industry.
==========
A Year Later, Search Continues for Missing Southwest Kansas Man
GRAY COUNTY, Kan. (JC Post) — A year has passed since the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Meade County Sheriff's Office and the Gray County Sheriff's Office began investigating the disappearance of Richard Salisbury. The JC Post reports that Salisbury was 55-years-old when he was last seen in September 2022 in rural Gray County. He would now be 56. Salisbury had been living in Plains for around three months. Prior to that, he lived in the Austin, Texas area. Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME.
==========
Kansas Lawmakers to Consider Removing Voting Grace Period
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas lawmakers are trying again to remove the grace period that lets mail-in ballots be counted if they arrive after Election Day. Kansas is one of more than a dozen states that will count a mail-in ballot after voting ends, so long as the ballot is postmarked on or before the election. Former Republican state representative Keith Esau helped create the grace period in Kansas. He now wants it gone. “The reason for removing this is also to increase confidence in voting. We have people who do not like seeing the counts change radically after election night," he said. Republican lawmakers almost eliminated this grace period last year, but they could not override a veto from the Democratic governor. Opponents of the change say the current policy helps people in rural areas vote.
==========
New Wind Farm Turbines Feature Automated Warning Lights
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas now has its first wind farm designed to limit night-time light pollution. Sunflower Wind Farm is now operational in Marion County. The developer, Orsted, says it can generate enough power for 70,000 homes. This is the first wind farm in Kansas with automated lights that only turn on when airplanes approach. A new Kansas law pushes for steps like this to cut down on light pollution. A common complaint about wind turbines is that they disturb the night sky with their blinking red lights. A second wind farm with automated lights will start operating this winter near the Nebraska border. It will be the biggest in Kansas – enough to power 240,000 homes.
==========
Kansas Attorney General Aims to Ban Sale of Kansas Land to Foreign Interests
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has proposed a bill banning foreign entities from buying up Kansas farmland. Kobach’s proposal would bar foreign people or corporations from buying more than 10 acres of land in Kansas. He told lawmakers the measure is needed to preserve national security and protect the food supply from Chinese-owned companies. During a legislative committee meeting, Bob Fu of the nonprofit group ChinaAid said he supports Kobach’s plan because large land purchases could strengthen China’s government. “This piece of legislation has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or even nationality. It’s about the threat to our state and country,” Fu said. Twenty-four states have passed similar laws. Kobach’s proposal echoes several bills introduced in the Kansas Legislature last session that did not make it to a vote.
==========
Lawmaker Threatens KDWP Funding over Potential Deer Baiting Ban
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A Republican state lawmaker has threatened to strip funding from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks if it bans people from baiting deer with piles of food. The state’s wildlife commissioners are considering a restriction on deer baiting to slow the spread of fatal chronic wasting disease. Representative Lewis Bloom, is a farmer in Clay Center and serves on a committee that oversees the wildlife agency’s budget. He told commissioners that he will retaliate by proposing an immediate $1 million cut if the panel approves a ban. Bloom’s threat came at a public hearing as the state’s wildlife commissioners consider restricting deer baiting to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease, which is related to mad cow disease and fatally damages the brains of deer. Kansas is one of only a few states that still allows baiting. State wildlife officials say they are also concerned about other problems, such as damage to crops and natural areas caused by high deer and raccoon concentrations around feeders. Representative Bloom also said another lawmaker, who owns a hunting lodge, would help him make the cuts. The lodge owner, Republican Representative Ken Corbet, brushed off concerns that it was a conflict of interest. He says any cuts would need to be proposed and debated in the committee.
==========
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.