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Inquiry into Marion raid has been hopelessly compromised. Kansans deserve an independent review. • Kansas Reflector

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Inquiry into Marion raid has been hopelessly compromised. Kansans deserve an independent review. • Kansas Reflector

We will not see justice in the law enforcement raid on the Marion County Record newspaper until officials take an entirely different approach.

Until now, the investigation into abuse of power by local officials has been overseen by Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey’s handpicked special prosecutors and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, with an assist from its Colorado compatriots. All have shown themselves unlikely or unwilling to serve justice. The prosecutors’ report offers a how-to manual for abusing journalists. The KBI, as shown by First Amendment attorney Max Kautsch’s columns last month, has long obfuscated the details of high-profile cases and covered for guilty cops.

We need to start over.

And that begins by having a truly independent counsel to review all of the investigative files related to the raid, collected by both the KBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation in its follow-up work.

That independent counsel should be a retired judge or lawyer of unimpeachable credentials, someone respected by law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys and reporters alike. This person should have a clear record of leveling with the public and explaining why charges are or are not brought in cases.

After a careful review of all of the evidence, this independent counsel should then write their own report free of influence from Kansas law enforcement officials and share it with the public. If they believe further charges should be brought against one or more parties in the case, they should be empowered to do so.

I suggest this approach as a compromise.

In his columns, Kautsch called for the release of raw investigative files from the KBI and CBI. The more public information the better, but law enforcement officials have denied open-records requests from Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith. On the other hand, special prosecutor Barry Wilkerson told Smith he doesn’t foresee any new charges in the case (beyond the token slap on the wrist administered to former police chief Gideon Cody).

The least Kansas officials could do is allow someone else to take a hard look at what happened in Marion and why.

Special prosecutors’ history

You may wonder why I’m so quickly discarding the work of Wilkerson and his fellow special prosecutor, Marc Bennett.

Unfortunately, both men are hardly objective referees. The circumstances surrounding their appointment and earlier public testimony about open records raise questions that, to my mind, invalidates their report. I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the two men personally, or their work in Riley and Sedgewick counties. In this specific situation, however, they were flawed picks.

As Smith reported last month, Bennett offered Ensey advice in the immediate aftermath of the raid (Wilkerson pitched in a couple of days later). Bennett told the county attorney that search warrants in the case “will not sustain appellate review” and “to return the material seized to the owners in an expedited manner.”

Ensey then selected Bennett and Wilkerson as the special prosecutors. Surely, in the entire state of Kansas, he could have found legal minds without prior involvement in the case.

But that’s just the beginning. Wilkerson happens to have made extensive public comment about the relationship between news reporters and law enforcement. A decade ago, he testified against a House bill improving law enforcement transparency and accountability. The Kansas Press Association explained more here.

In written testimony, Wilkerson offered his take as president of the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association. He didn’t just argue against the bill. He instead appeared to criticize the very concept of crime reporting.

“I have never met the victim of a violent crime who wanted to be on the front page, or the families of murder victims who want to be today’s top story,” he said. “They have been victimized already and they do not want their pain and agony paraded publicly and their dignity invaded while they read or hear from others who have read gruesome details of a murder or sexual assault. It is an unspeakable gut wrenching experience, not a headline.

“The Kansas Legislature is here to protect its citizens not to help sell sensationalized news accounts.”

I don’t know which is more disgraceful. That Wilkerson hid his obvious contempt for the free speech rights of the press behind a shield of crime victims or that he believes reporters relish the despair of others. For one thing, there is no shortage of such victims who want to tell their stories in a public forum, and as loudly as possible. For the other, I’ve watched reporters throughout my two-decade career grapple with the toll of reporting on inhumanity.

Members of the news media understand the seriousness of the issues, which is why we cover them. We aren’t paid Wilkerson’s county attorney salary ($192,723 for 2023) to do so, either.

A version of the bill ultimately made it into law in 2014. In an interview with Smith, the attorney suggested that he was representing the group’s position, “but we ended up working out a compromise on all this … and we were able to get something done, the bill that was eventually passed.”

He added that he supported the current law.

I take Wilkerson at his word today, even though Katusch told me the proposal and compromise were “remarkably similar.” But I also take Wilkerson at his word in 2014. That testimony makes him wholly inappropriate to serve as a special prosecutor in a case concerning press freedom. Full stop.

For the record, Bennett also testified against the House bill, although in more technical terms. Wilkerson spoke with Smith late last month, but Bennett declined to do so.

Keeping up the pressure

In the month since Wilkerson and Bennett’s report dropped, Smith and I have spoken to and heard from Kansas lawyers and law enforcement. Some have made their disagreement with its conclusions public. Others have taken a quieter approach — for now.

What I can say is this: The report does not suffice. It falls short in only charging a single person for their conduct after the fact. It falls short for not making a more forceful case about freedom of the press and the importance of journalists being able to do their jobs unimpeded. Most critically, it falls short in calling precisely no one to account for conducting an illegal raid. At a certain point, it moves beyond excusing bad conduct to laying the groundwork for others to harass the press in the future.

Someone else must take the reins, and as soon as possible.

I don’t have a specific method in mind for selecting the independent counsel. In my conversations with Kautsch, it appears that the appointment could either come at the local level, from state law enforcement agencies, or even Gov. Laura Kelly. He will address possible mechanisms for such an appointment in an upcoming column.

The point is to get a well-respected person selected and starting work sooner rather than later.

The stench of law enforcement abuse in the Marion County Record case has not gone away. It will not go away. It will continue to waft throughout this state until someone in our government stands up and insists on accountability from those who would strip First Amendment rights from their fellow citizens. Record editor Eric Meyer saw support surge into his newsroom from across the nation in the raid’s aftermath. But that’s not enough, and it was never going to be enough. Outrage without consequence eventually evaporates.

As I wrote last year, within a week of the original raid, we need accountability.

At this point, an independent counsel is the only way to get there.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

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Homegrown Jayhawk stars ready to shine at Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

Published

7 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Homegrown Jayhawk stars ready to shine at Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) – As Kansas women’s basketball prepares to enter the postseason at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, they’ll be led by two Overland Park natives who have been two of the most electrifying players to watch in the country this year.

Junior guard S’Mya Nichols and freshman forward Jaliya Davis have played integral roles in the recent growth of the program. Both cite the desire to help grow the Jayhawks into something special as reasons for committing there.

“Where we wanted to take Kansas women’s basketball, I wanted to be a part of that growing evolution,” Nichols told KCTV5.

“We [my family] were also really big Jayhawk fans. We came to a lot of games,” Davis said about her childhood.

The two were both 5-star recruits in high school, and their commitments marked historic recruiting victories for the KU women’s basketball program.

First came Nichols in the Class of 2023, picking KU over Tennessee and Oklahoma.

“I genuinely wanted to go to Kansas,” she said.

Then Davis became the highest-rated player to ever commit to KU as part of the Class of 2025.

“When you go back to S’Mya Nichols being a local, Kansas City, Overland Park product, a nationally respected player, Jaliya was really the next one that was very important for the Jayhawks to keep home,” said head coach Brandon Schneider.

Now as a junior, Nichols has established herself as one of the most consistent scorers and physical guards in the nation.

But it’s the Shawnee Mission West’s alum’s leadership that defines her legacy in Lawrence.

“The team leader, the quarterback,” Coach Schneider described Nichols. “I think oftentimes the player that everybody looks up to off the court.”

“I mean it means everything. Knowing that I’m important to the team, and that they see me as that as well,” said Nichols with a smile.

Both Nichols and Davis were recruited by the Jayhawks for years, going all the way back to seventh grade.

“Well, we offered her in middle school,’ Coach Schneider said with a laugh about Davis.

“Oh he put in a lot of work,” laughed Davis. “I mean, obviously, seventh grade, that’s a long time.”

It was that dedication from Coach Schneider that led her to choose the Jayhawks over Texas, South Carolina, Baylor, and Oklahoma – where he dad played ball.

“I think it really was the relationship we had and grew. He was always there, every single one of my games,” Davis said about Schneider.

After just one practice as teammates, Nichols voiced a big belief about Davis into existence – and it’s probably going to come true.

The Jayhawks are the 11-seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will face 14-seed UCF in the first round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.(KCTV5)

“I saw her first practice, and I sent her a text, and I’m like ‘I think you can win Freshman of the Year’, and I still stand by that,”

Davis is averaging 21.0 points per game, and has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for eight weeks in a row. That sets a power conference all-time record.

“I think it’s really cool. I mean obviously it’s a team effort, they’re always looking for me,” Davis said about her historic accomplishment.

“Just a phenomenal stretch of basketball for her, and so well deserving,” said Coach Schneider.

Now these two homegrown stars are at the forefront of a late-season push to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Right now, CBS Sports bracketology has them as a ‘First Four Out’ team.

But a few wins in the Big 12 Tournament could certainly help seal their invite to the big dance.

“Obviously we’re not in the position that we were hoping to be in, but I think we can make the most out of it, and get to where we want to be,” Davis said about the opportunity at hand in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

The Overland Park kids are especially fired up about starting the postseason in their own backyard.

“I have a big support system. So I bet my family will take a big chunk of that area during that tournament,” Davis laughed.

“I remember being younger, and the College Basketball Experience is right next door. So I felt like at one moment that was the big stage, when I got to play my little AAU tournaments in there. And then all of a sudden I’m literally in T-Mobile Center on the actual big stage, so it’s pretty cool,” said Nichols.

The Jayhawks are the 11-seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will face 14-seed UCF in the first round on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

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Why Matthew Driscoll continues to say Kansas State is ‘close’

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Why Matthew Driscoll continues to say Kansas State is ‘close’

MANHATTAN — David Castillo sank his free throw to finish off a three-point play to cut TCU’s lead to two late in the second half. Kansas State had a chance to play spoiler to a team that was on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

For the previous 36 minutes, the Wildcats were more engaged than they had been all season. You wouldn’t have recognized they were just under two weeks removed from their head coach getting fired. The Wildcats were in the middle of a competitive basketball game when there haven’t been many this season.

And then the final four minutes happened, and the Wildcats lost once again.

Kansas State pulled within one score six different times in the second half against the Horned Frogs, only to never take a lead, and then go 4 minutes, 4 seconds without a point after Castillo’s late bucket, leading to a 77-68 loss.

K-State interim coach Matthew Driscoll compared the loss to a broken record, when the Wildcats have been close late, only to fall apart in the end.

“We get there, and then, for whatever reason, we can’t break through,” Driscoll said. “When we got it to a one-point game, I thought that this was when we were going to turn the corner. It just seems like we keep getting close, and we can’t break through that wall.”

Kansas State (11-18, 2-14 Big 12) has been within striking distance in a handful of games this season, only to go on lengthy scoring droughts and come up short in the end.

While there are plenty of games in which the Wildcats were blown out or didn’t show half the effort they showed against the Horned Frogs, there have been enough games that if the Wildcats finished, they wouldn’t be fighting to not finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

K-State’s Feb. 25 loss to Colorado is another example, having two five-plus-minute spurts in which it didn’t score a point. The Wildcats held late leads against West Virginia and Oklahoma State, and in their first game against TCU, only to choke away those leads.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” Khamari McGriff said. “It’s been a fight to continue to focus on the next right thing and let whatever has happened in the past, and just try to get to a point where we can compete for 40 minutes. We gotta look at it with the perspective that we’ve been close a lot of times, and we just gotta figure out how to take that next step.”

Kansas State is running out of opportunities to achieve that “next step.” The Wildcats have a home game on Tuesday, March 3, against a beatable West Virginia team before closing the regular season at Kansas on March 7. After that, it would be surprising if the Wildcats get more than two games at the Big 12 Tournament.

But Driscoll hasn’t seen his team quit, which is almost all he can ask for after what has been a season to forget.

“We just haven’t completed the deal,” Driscoll said.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

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Kansas Highway Patrol reports five-vehicle crash in Johnson Co. Friday

Published

2 days ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Kansas Highway Patrol reports five-vehicle crash in Johnson Co. Friday

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) – Multiple people were involved in a five-vehicle crash Friday in Johnson County.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol Crash Log, the crash occurred around 4:55 p.m. on Interstate 35.

Five vehicles: a 2021 Toyota Tacoma, a 2010 Toyota Sienna, a 2014 Honda Pilot, a 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, and a 2018 Ford Mustang, were all traveling northbound on the I-35 long ramp to 75th Street.

The 2021 Toyota Tacoma exited the roadway to the right and struck the rear of the 2010 Toyota Sienna.

The 2021 Toyota Tacoma then continued northbound and struck the 2024 Honda Pilot.

The Honda Pilot was pushed and struck the rear of the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, which then lost control and struck the 2018 Ford Mustang. The Chevrolet Malibu then struck the barrier wall.

There were no serious injuries reported in the incident.

The driver of the Toyota Tacoma, a 28-year-old male of Kansas City, Kan., was taken to a hospital with a possible injury. He was wearing a safety restraint.

The Toyota Sienna driver, a 23-year-old female, of Merriam, Kan., had no apparent injuries and was wearing a safety restraint.

The Honda Pilot driver, a 75-year-old male of Lenexa, Kan., had no apparent injuries and was wearing a safety restraint.

The driver of the Chevrolet Malibu, a 31-year-old female of Kansas City, Kan., had no apparent injuries and was wearing a safety restraint.

The 2018 Ford Mustang held two occupants. The driver, a 19-year-old male of Garden Plain, Kan., had no apparent injuries and was wearing a safety restraint.

The other occupant in the vehicle was an 18-year-old female of Goddard, Kan. She did not have any apparent injuries and was wearing a safety restraint.

View the full Kansas Highway Patrol Crash log on this incident here.

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