local newspapers

The last couple of decades have been tough on newspapers. Kansas has lost about 50 publications in the past 20 years. Rural news outlets also face another problem: Owners of many small, family-run newspapers are getting older, and it’s uncertain who will keep the presses running when they retire.

Special prosecutors charged former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with one count of interference with the judicial process, a low-level felony, for asking a restauranteur to delete text messages after his controversial raid of the Marion County Record.

Marion, Kansas, Police Chief Gideon Cody — formerly a member of the Kansas City Police Department — resigned after an earlier suspension. A reporter for the Marion County Record has also resigned, saying she no longer feels comfortable in the community.

The August 11 raid was ostensibly undertaken under the pretense that a reporter committed identity theft by accessing public records on a public website. A new lawsuit from veteran journalist Deb Gruver contends that the Marion Police Chief's real motivation was to punish the newspaper for its investigations.

The lawyer who represents the Marion County Record accused Marion County Police of copying data from the newspaper onto an external hard drive and failing to give it back. The sheriff's office agreed Thursday to destroy the data.

Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody initiated the Aug. 11 raid of the newspaper office, the publisher’s home, and the home of a city councilwoman under the pretense that a reporter committed identity theft by looking at public records. First Amendment attorneys say the reporter committed no crime and Magistrate Judge Laura Viar should have known the search warrants were unconstitutional when she signed them.

Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the local newspaper, died a day after law enforcement raided her home. Her son believes the stress of the raid on her home and the newsroom was a contributing factor in her death.

Journalists at the Marion County Record worked late into the night to publish their first issue since the widely-criticized raid. “SEIZED… but not silenced,” its headline read.

The county attorney in Marion County, Kansas, says that police should return seized material to the weekly newspaper after a much-criticized raid. The prosecutor said his review found “insufficient evidence" to suggest a crime.

Days after a police raid and the death of a co-owner, the Marion County Record, a small weekly newspaper, raced to publish. The raid was criticized as a potential first amendment violation.