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By Rich McKay

(Reuters) -A Kansas newspaper whose offices and the home of its associate publisher were searched by law enforcement in 2023 has been granted a $3 million award by the county and an apology for violating the publication’s constitutional rights.

The raids followed false accusations that the Marion County Record had illegally obtained driving records of a local restaurant owner as part of an investigation into her efforts to obtain a liquor license, according to media reports. Driving records are public information.

The paper, based in the central Kansas town of Marion, had also reported on the background of the police chief before he authorized the operation.

The raids, in which local police and county sheriff’s deputies seized cellphones, computers and documents, raised i