# Police stage 'chilling' raid on small Kansas newspaper, seizing computers (due to divorce conflict?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [August 12, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438 "2023-08-12T02:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/61 "2023-08-20T15:46:25Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > And, of course, this is all specific to my jurisdiction and I’m making a huge assumption that hers is at least similar. Kansas law appears to be similar. According to the Kansas Department of Revenue [website](https://www.ksrevenue.gov/abcemployeefaqs.html) FAQs: > If I get a DUI, can I still work at a retail liquor store, drinking establishment or club? > > Yes, as long as it is not a felony DUI conviction. However, individuals employed as servers, bartenders or managers at on-premise licenses (such as clubs or drinking establishments) cannot have three or more convictions for alcohol related offenses (including DUIs) or two or more convictions of a “furnishing to a minor” offense within the last five years. Regarding the requirements for obtaining a liquor license, from the same link: > Will a felony conviction prevent me from obtaining a liquor license or being employed by a liquor licensee? > > Yes, owners or employees who serve, mix or dispense alcohol cannot have a felony conviction of any type. We know that Newell has a DUI on her record, but it’s unclear if it’s a felony DUI. My decidedly uneducated guess would be that’s it’s not a felony. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m curious if she disclosed her DUI on her liquor license\* application I looked through the application on the state website for a liquor license. I found nothing which asked about a DUI and/or a felony conviction. I also found nothing about background searches. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/62 "2023-08-21T00:42:07Z")
Not at all. Reportedly this poor lady was still working a day a week at the paper. She was heart broken by the raid and all it portended. It’s disgusting. Whoops, this comment meant for @Thelmalou Though though, it seems thorny agrees. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/63 "2023-08-21T21:11:10Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > She was heart broken by the raid and all it portended. It’s disgusting. A video of the raid on this old woman’s house has been released. > **[Video shows stressful raid of 98-year-old Marion County Record co-owner’s house](https://news.yahoo.com/video-shows-stressful-raid-98-192429281.html)** > > Joan Meyer suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and died the next day. > “[Does] your mother love you?” she asked one officer. “Do you love your mother? You’re an asshole, police chief. You’re the chief? Oh, God, get out of my house.” ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/64 "2023-08-21T21:51:27Z")
She was awesome. I wish she survived it, but it was an awful personal invasion. Political shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/65 "2023-08-27T04:14:04Z")
**How a small-town feud in Kansas sent a shock through American journalism** [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-a-small-town-feud-in-kansas-sent-a-shock-through-american-journalism/ar-AA1fNWYx](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-a-small-town-feud-in-kansas-sent-a-shock-through-american-journalism/ar-AA1fNWYx) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/66 "2023-08-28T16:26:54Z")
The Marion Record website has a lot of information about the police chief involved in the raid. He was a “morale killer”, allegedly once ran over a dead boy at a crime scene, and in general seems like a great guy /s. I hope they can get their paper back up and running properly. [The sheriff’s department has agreed to destroy all of the files they took from the newspaper.](https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/24/altered-evidence-list-indicates-marion-police-kept-illegal-copy-of-evidence-from-kansas-newspaper/) The whole thing just gets shadier and shadier as time goes on and more is revealed. The police had an item on the list they gave to the DA that wasn’t on the newspaper’s list if I’m reading the story correctly. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/67 "2023-08-28T16:51:26Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > allegedly once ran over a dead boy at a crime scene WTF?? 😱 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/68 "2023-08-28T16:53:24Z")
Oops, typo. That should be “dead BODY.” Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/69 "2023-08-28T16:54:34Z")
Whew! 🤦🏽‍♀️ But even so… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/70 "2023-08-28T17:35:30Z")
Here is an article (hopefully not paywalled) that appeared today. The restaurant owner who sparked the controversy speaks out. > **[She’s called ‘killer,’ ‘Hitler.’ At center of Kansas newspaper raid, she...](https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article278596404.html)** > > “I’ve probably got 600 or 700 messages saying I have blood on my hands,” Kari Newell says. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/71 "2023-08-28T18:44:10Z")
I do agree with some of her points. The police chief was not alone in his actions; there was a whole chain that caused the raid. And she shouldn’t be blamed for that old woman’s passing. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/72 "2023-08-28T18:47:00Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > there was a whole chain that caused the raid. Yep, plenty of blame to go around, including the paper itself. Nothing, however, justified the raid of the office and the two homes. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/73 "2023-08-28T18:47:39Z")
Very paywalled, can you summarize a little please. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/74 "2023-08-28T18:53:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > > allegedly once ran over a dead boy at a crime scene > > WTF?? 😱 At least it wasn’t a live girl. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/75 "2023-08-28T19:16:23Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > including the paper itself. What do you see as blameworthy in the paper? They got a tip, they investigated it, using a publicly accessible database, they decided there was no story, and they didn’t run it. How is that blameworthy? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/76 "2023-08-28T20:20:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > What do you see as blameworthy in the paper? I was referring to earlier, aggressive reporting by the newspaper in other stories, which weren’t mentioned in this article. Not that there’s anything inherently ‘blameful’ about that, but I believe that it helped lead to the animosity towards the paper from both the police chief and the restaurant owner. Just my opinion, to be sure. And my apologies for not making that clear. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/77 "2023-08-28T20:24:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > can you summarize a little please In a word, the restaurant owner, Kari Newell, believes that she is being unfairly castigated as the villain in this case. She continues to believe that her driving information was illegally viewed by the newspaper. And she does not think that she was responsible for the raid on the paper’s offices. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/78 "2023-08-28T20:40:07Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > > > [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > > > > allegedly once ran over a dead boy at a crime scene > > > > WTF?? 😱 > > At least it wasn’t a live girl. Can we really be sure it wasn’t, given what we know about this police force? I mean, sure the officer says “dead body” and you hear “dead boy,” but I see no reason to take the officer’s own assertion at face value. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/79 "2023-08-28T21:22:33Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I was referring to earlier, aggressive reporting by the newspaper in other stories, which weren’t mentioned in this article. Not that there’s anything inherently ‘blameful’ about that, but I believe that it helped lead to the animosity towards the paper from both the police chief and the restaurant owner. People who are behaving improperly often develop “animosity” to anyone who points it out. What kind of a world do you expect to have if nobody’s supposed to point out improper behavior, especially on the part of public officials? What sort of “aggressive reporting” do you think they should be blamed for? Did they report things that weren’t true, and that reasonable investigation should have told them weren’t true? Did they break into genuinely private records or private quarters? (It appears to have been the police chief who broke into private quarters.) I agree that Newell probably didn’t intend to kill anybody. But the determined denial that a public record is in fact a public record doesn’t speak well at all. DUI’s around here are published in the newspaper to start with; as are all convictions; as they should be. Wasn’t the info in the paper’s own archives? – I suppose that whether her license had ever been reinstated probably wouldn’t be; but the later convictions for driving unlicensed etc. probably would. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438/80 "2023-08-28T22:06:33Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > What sort of “aggressive reporting” do you think they should be blamed for? I’m not blaming them for any aggressive reporting, and, again, I apologize for my choice of words. I’ll repeat, however, that their earlier reporting on the police chief certainly was a factor in the decision made by the chief in seeking to obtain the search warrant. The publisher himself says that they are controversial, as evidenced by this NPR interview. Again, I have no issues with that style of reporting. But it certainly was part of the backstory that led to the raid. > **[The 'Marion County Record' that police raided has a history of hard-hitting...](https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195291862/the-marion-county-record-that-police-raided-has-a-history-of-hard-hitting-report)** > > The family-owned Marion County Record stands out for holding local officials accountable. That role is becoming increasingly rare as local newspapers vanish across the country. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > DUI’s around here are published in the newspaper to start with; as are all convictions; as they should be. Wasn’t the info in the paper’s own archives? AIUI, the Newell’s DUI was in another jurisdiction and happened before she moved to Marion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-small-kansas-newspaper-seizing-computers-due-to-divorce-conflict/988438.md?page=5)