Newspapers

Kansas has lost about 50 newspapers in the past 20 years. And as the owners of many small, family-owned papers get older, it’s uncertain who will keep the presses running when they retire. Plus: Missouri Republicans shattered norms when they pushed through redistricting and amendment changes in a special session — and it could have long-term consequences.

The past couple of decades have been tough on newspapers. Kansas has lost about 50 publications in the past 20 years. As owners of many small, family-run newspapers are getting older, it’s uncertain who will keep the presses running when they retire.

Families of incarcerated people in Kansas were long able to take out a newspaper subscription in a person’s name and have it delivered to a state facility. The Kansas Department of Corrections changed that policy without notice, claiming safety concerns but causing confusion.

Former Kansas City Star photographer Raymond Corey captured behind-the-scenes images and everyday rural life in the Midwest for decades. A new exhibition of his work highlights 50,000 negatives donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by his family.

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.

Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody is charged with felony obstruction of justice and is accused of persuading a potential witness for a probe into his conduct of withholding information from authorities.

Even though a special prosecutors report released this week clears nearly everyone in the unprecedented Marion County Record raid of criminal wrongdoing, it does nothing to diffuse allegations of police malfeasance — or concerns about a corrupt local government.

The former police chief of Marion, Kansas, will face criminal charges for his role in a raid of the Marion County Record. The raid made national headlines last year and drew attention from state investigators and First Amendment advocates.

A report from special prosecutors cleared Marion County Record reporters of any wrongdoing, and accuses former Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody of obstructing the judicial process — a low-level felony.

After the raid of the Marion County Record, Deb Gruver quit and filed a federal lawsuit against Police Chief Gideon Cody for his “malicious and recklessly indifferent violation” of her constitutional rights. Earlier this month, Gruver and Cody reached a $235,000 settlement.

A lawsuit from former council member Ruth Herbel alleges that the August 2023 raids on her home and the Marion County Record were acts of retaliation by the mayor, police chief and sheriff — and accused officials of "judge-shopping" for warrants.

The U.S. lost newspapers at a rate of about 2.5 per week last year, many of them in rural areas. But some newspapers are trying new business models and doubling down on local news. Plus: A southwest Kansas printing press keeps local news alive in small towns across four states.