If you have the time, check the Kansas Historical Society. Here is the address and phone #: 6425 SW 6th Avenue · Topeka, KS 66615-1099 · 785-272-8681 and a link to their web site
http://www.kshs.org/. A short look into their newspaper index gave me a list of about 20 reels of microfilmed newspaper for the 1877 range in Topeka. The last time I was there research was free and if you needed to make a copy of a microfilm it was 25cents a page. You can get copies out of books or other files, but I am not sure about the price.