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Emporia State University forges new identity with $9M earmark from Kansas Legislature
TOPEKA — Emporia State University’s new structure, underwritten by a $9 million earmark in the state budget, comes with a new marketing slogan and a new explanation for last year’s dramatic upheaval. Legislative leaders and university administrators describe the so-called “ESU model,” which involved the firing of tenured faculty members under the guise of a […]
Kansas reporter sues Marion police chief, alleging retaliation in newsroom raid
TOPEKA — Police Chief Gideon Cody arrived at the Marion County Record and handed a copy of a search warrant to Deb Gruver, the veteran reporter who had questioned him about alleged misconduct at his previous job. As Gruver read the search warrant, she told Cody she needed to call her publisher and editor, Eric […]
Sheriff’s office agrees to destroy evidence obtained from raid on Kansas newspaper
TOPEKA — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office agreed Thursday to destroy digital files it copied from computers seized during the raid on the Marion County Record. Bernie Rhodes, an attorney for the newspaper, raised concerns about whether law enforcement had altered a list of evidence from the raid and illegally held onto a previously undisclosed […]
After Kansas newspaper raid, lawmaker proposes taking warrant power away from magistrates
TOPEKA — House Minority Leader Vic Miller said Tuesday he would introduce legislation to take away a magistrate’s power to authorize a search warrant, addressing one problematic aspect of the circumstances surrounding the raid on the Marion County Record. Miller, a Topeka Democrat, said he hopes the proposal will launch a conversation that could expand […]
Kansas Supreme Court plans child welfare summit to forge ‘better paths forward’
TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Justice Melissa Standridge on Tuesday announced plans for a two-day summit next year to brainstorm innovative solutions for problems surrounding child welfare in Kansas. Standridge said the summit would be a collaboration among the three branches of government, the legal community, child welfare partners and experts, and families and children […]
‘Completely unjustified’: Affidavits point to abuse of power in raid on Kansas newspaper
TOPEKA — Affidavits signed by a police chief and magistrate to warrant the raid on the Marion County Record were supposed to provide evidence that a reporter committed a crime. Instead, they serve as evidence that the local officials abused their power. Police Chief Gideon Cody received approval from Magistrate Judge Laura Viar to conduct […]
Kobach: KBI looking into possible data breach in Kansas newspaper case
TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach says state authorities reviewing alleged crimes associated with the raid of a Marion newspaper are interested in whether someone breached the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System. Police raided the Marion County Record last week after the newspaper received information from a confidential source about the criminal history of […]
Kansas prisoners injured in bus crash on way to Russell Stover job
TOPEKA — Eight residents of the women’s prison in Topeka were injured early Thursday when a bus transporting them from the Russell Stover factory in Iola crashed into a semi-truck hauling dirt. A spokesman for the Kansas Highway Patrol said the accident happened when the bus failed to stop at a stop sign, striking the […]
Marion County Record publishes in defiance of police raid — and gets seized property back
MARION — Marion County Record staff worked through the night to publish the paper’s weekly edition as scheduled Wednesday, days after police raided the newsroom and confiscated computers, cellphones and other items. A single word screamed across the top of the paper in 200-point bold type — “SEIZED” — followed by a defiant statement: “… […]
Police defend raid on Kansas newspaper amid backlash over ‘brazen violation of press freedom’
TOPEKA — Marion police on Saturday defended their unprecedented raid on a newspaper office and the publisher’s home by pointing to a loophole in federal law that protects journalists from searches and seizures. Law enforcement raided the Marion County Record on Friday, seizing computers and reporters’ personal cellphones as part of an investigation into alleged […]
Police stage ‘chilling’ raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones
MARION — In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home. Eric Meyer, owner and publisher of the newspaper, said police were motivated by a confidential source who leaked sensitive documents to the newspaper, and the message […]
Topeka Rescue Mission leaders credit fired city manager with advancing homeless talks
Current and former leaders of the Topeka Rescue Mission credit Stephen Wade with advancing community-wide discussion about how to serve a growing unsheltered population. And they blame a councilwoman for making their relationship with Wade, the former Topeka city manager, a flashpoint for controversy. Wade helped bring dozens of organizations together for a homeless summit […]