Marion, Kan., (pop. 1,922) is right smack in the middle of nowhere, unless you count Cottonwood Falls (pop. 851) 27 miles to the east. But this tiny farming and cattle town is now on the map: ground zero for a titanic battle over freedom of the press.
When the local weekly, the Marion County Record, started digging into the checkered history of the new police chief, Gideon Cody, he struck back. Aft…