By JIM MCLEAN

Jeff Colyer rose to the top of the Kansas executive branch Wednesday with events staged not just around his swearing in as governor, but in concert with his dash to get elected to the office and a possible inauguration next year.

Shortly after 3 p.m. in the Topeka Statehouse, he took the oath of office to become the 47th governor of Kansas and became the one person in the race for chief executive who could begin logging time in the role.

“I challenge all of us to come together,” he said after being sworn in as governor, “to work together to show that Kansas is the true heart of America.”

With that, the Colyer era in Kansas government had begun.

In a speech that echoed the optimism of the late President Ronald Reagan, Colyer promised to set a more cooperative tone in the Capitol.

Jabbing his finger against the podium for emphasis, Colyer said he would work with lawmakers to repair the state’s financial challenges and end a stand-off with the Kansas Supreme Court over public school funding.

“I will not be responsible for shutting down Kansas government or our schools,” he said. “This is not Washington.”

Colyer started the day with a pre-dawn trek to his former family farm, a section of rolling grassland dotted with oil wells about 15 minutes from his childhood home in Hays.

Circled by aides, a few longtime friends and a small gaggle of reporters atop a bluff, he talked about working cattle, harvesting wheat and hunting quail on the land with his late father, James Colyer.

“This is what it’s all about,” Colyer said, silhouetted against an early morning sky streaked with red. “This is Kansas.”

Next he dashed from one camera-ready moment to the next, stopping at places that reinforced the image his campaign wants to portray as a serious man of faith in touch with his Kansas roots.

At the Catholic school from where he graduated in 1978 Colyer attended Mass, greeting and hugging old friends and teachers as ordinarily loud schoolchildren walked by quietly.

Thomas More Prep-Marian Alumni Director Wanda Billinger could hardly contain her excitement over Colyer’s visit.

“It makes the faculty and the alumni and the school feel proud that this is how he wants to start his day to become governor is to attend Mass this morning with us,” she said.

As people began to make their way into the chapel, Colyer sat in the front row, next to a handful of friends from his class. Among them was Kevin Gottschalck, who said things Colyer learned while attending the school helped prepare him to take the highest office in Kansas.

“Jeff will have that as a governor, look out for everybody, not just his personal needs and just the small group of elite,” Gottschalck said. “He’ll try and take care of everybody the best he can.”

The Rev. Michael Scully, a former teacher at Thomas More Prep, said he saw leadership potential in Colyer in high school, partly because he starred on the school’s debate team.

“We knew that there was something about him that was promising,” Scully said. “We had no idea that it would go this far.”

Next, Colyer toured the West Side Alternative Mental Health Center for Kids. The facility works with the school district to provide mental health services to students.

“I’m serious about solving problems and empowering people to do so and you guys are doing it,” Colyer said. “I appreciate the opportunity to highlight some local solutions.”

Still in the No. 2 job as lieutenant governor, he boarded a Cessna turbo-prop typically used to whisk the governor around the state and headed back to Topeka. His entourage on the plane included his chief of staff, Clay Barker; the soon-to-be-governor’s spokesman; a free-lance author chronicling the relationship between faith and politics in Colyer’s life; and three Capitol reporters.

Finally, beneath the Capitol dome and standing in front of a large American flag, Colyer was sworn in to applause in a Statehouse packed with Republican and Democratic lawmakers officials from across state government.

“Kansans are often underestimated,” he said, but he looked forward to helping the state’s residents tap into “the Kansas character.”

“We will not compromise long-term outcomes for short-term political gains,” Colyer said. “I will always, always choose the most optimistic path for Kansas.”

His chance to draw the spotlight and build a short record in office comes with the resignation of Sam Brownback. The embattled governor resigned  a year before his second term officially ended to become U.S. ambassador of religious freedom.

Now Colyer looks to cut a public profile separate from Brownback, who’s popularity dwindled steadily in recent years after sweeping tax cuts failed to produce a miracle for the Kansas economy. He’s said he wants to strike a more cooperative tone, but his political views track closely with Brownback’s.

Even as Colyer worked through the biggest day to date of his political life, Democrats revealed at least one way they’ll try to stunt his ambitions. With the launch of BrownbackClone.com, the Kansas Democratic Party sought to tie him to the least popular policies of the man he’s replacing.

“Brownback and Colyer worked side by side over the last seven years to dismantle Kansas’ economy, schools, and roads,” the party said in a mid-morning news release. “Now as governor, Jeff Colyer will be nothing more than a Brownback clone.”

Colyer’s call for cooperation resonated with House Majority Leader Don Hineman, a Dighton Republican.

“It was a good speech, a forward-looking, optimistic speech,” Hineman said. “I’m looking forward to this new beginning with a new governor.”

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said the fact that Colyer had already requested a meeting with Democratic leaders was a “good sign.”

“I think that’s a good start,” the Democrat said.

But, Hensley said, he isn’t convinced that Colyer’s policies will be substantially different from Brownback’s.

“I would expect more of the same,” he said, “but I could be surprised.”

Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty was struck by how the optimistic tone of Colyer’s speech contrasted with the doomsday rhetoric of President Donald Trump and, to a lesser extent, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

“This was not a Trumpian speech,” Beatty said. “This was not a speech of ‘oh, my gosh, there’s all these forces against us we have to defeat.’ This was a Reaganesque optimistic speech.”

The transition from Brownback to Colyer took longer than many people expected. Trump nominated Brownback for the position in June 2017, but Senate Democrats pushed back and delayed his confirmation over objections statements Brownback had made about LGBT issues.

The drawn-out process led to confusion and frustration back in Kansas, where state lawmakers began to prepare for the 2018 legislative session. It was often unclear whether Brownback, or then-lieutenant governor Colyer, was really in charge. The situation became even muddier after Colyer began making more public appearances and announcing the appointments of cabinet positions.

Some clarity came when Brownback gave the State of the State address and laid out his budget proposal. In the end, it didn’t really matter, because the U.S. Senate finally confirmed him to the ambassadorship less than two weeks later.

While Colyer will be taking over the governor’s office for the remainder of Brownback’s term, he’s also running in to keep the job for four more years. He’s already raised more than $600,000, near the top of the Republican field.

Unlike Brownback, Colyer’s led a relatively quiet political life. He served in the Kansas House and Senate before becoming lieutenant governor. His biggest impact on Kansas politics is undoubtedly the privatization of Medicaid known as KanCare. The program, launched in 2013, has reduced the cost of providing healthcare to low income, elderly, and disabled people, but increased red tape causing billing disputes that have frustrated patients and providers.

Many legislators have attacked KanCare, and figuring out how to keep the program moving forward will be among Colyer’s many challenges as he moves into the governor’s office.

First among those could be offering alternatives to the state budget Brownback proposed shortly before resigning. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers voiced concerns about how to pay for several items in the budget, including a large increase in school funding.

“I’m going to be working with legislators and there’s going to be a process over the next few weeks,” Colyer said. “I think that we can come to a solution.”

The last time an event like this happened in Kansas was in 2009, when then Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson took over for Kathleen Sebelius after she was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Obama White House. Parkinson’s event was simple in comparison to Colyer’s day-long festivities, but unlike Colyer, he had made it clear he would not be running for election at the end of his term.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. Brian Grimmett, based at KMUW in Wichita, is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) – A Lee’s Summit man already jailed in his girlfriend’s death is facing charges after another jail inmate was killed.

A Clay County grand jury on Tuesday indicted 34-year-old Marcus Simms for first-degree murder in the June 1 strangulation death of 26-year-old Brian Parsi at the jail. Authorities have not released details of what prompted the confrontation between the two inmates.

Simms was being held on first-degree murder charges in the April 2014 stabbing death of his girlfriend, Michele Boldridge, at their apartment.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation last summer after Parisi’s death was ruled a homicide.

The Kansas City Star reports Parsi was being held on a drug charge.

Online records don’t show that Simms has an attorney in the Parsi case.

CARTER COUNTY — A Missouri woman died in an accident just before 9p.m. Wednesday in Carter County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Joanna C. Hedge, 23, Grandin, was northbound on U.S. 60 at Route A in Ellsinore. The driver failed to yield to a westbound 2005 Kia Sorrento driven by George P. FIndley, 85, Licking.  The Kia collided with the Ford.

Hedge, Findley and a passenger in the Kia Betty J. Findley, 78, Lickingwere transported to Poplar Bluff Regional Hospital where Hedge died.   Hedge and Betty Findley were not wearing a seat belts, according to the MSHP.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 345 are investigating student allegations and have updated the timeline of events.

Recently, information came forward on allegations of harassment and the sharing of inappropriate photos that involve students at Seaman High School, according to Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones.

In September of 2017, the sheriff’s office received information from USD 345 School Police involving allegations of inappropriate photo sharing covering a time span of 2015-2017.  This information was promptly followed up on by the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division.

Attempts were made to validate the information, but the allegations were unable to be substantiated.  In mid-January of 2018, the Sheriff’s Office received new information of inappropriate photo sharing.  The investigation was re-opened.  Deputies are currently investigating these allegations and continue to work with USD 345 personnel.

The Sheriff’s office encouraged parents to educate their children on the consequences of sharing inappropriate photos. They also encourage students to utilize the School Resource Officers to answer questions as well as to report inappropriate activity, either on or off campus.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 27-year-old man was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for the child abuse-related death of an infant girl in Shawnee.

Aaron Peck pleaded no contest in November to intentional second-degree murder in the 2015 death of 7-month-old Analeece McHenry-Widmer.

The Kansas City Star reports Peck was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years and 11 months in prison.

Peck shared an apartment with the baby’s mother.

Paramedics called to the apartment said the baby was having convulsions. Doctors determined she suffered severe head trauma.

Peck initially told police that a 2-year-old child in the home injured the girl but doctors said a young child could not have inflicted the injuries she suffered.

DOUGLAS COUNTY— A Missouri woman died in an accident just before 10am. Wednesday in Douglas County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Buick Century driven by Alexa S. Coonney, 26, Ava, was westbound on Mo. 76 three miles west of Ava.

The vehicle traveled off the right side of the road and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle returned to the road, traveled off the right side of the road and struck a tree.

Coonney was pronounced dead at the scene. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The parents of a toddler fatally injured at a traveling carnival in Kansas have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the carnival’s Missouri-based operator.

Shaun Bartonek and Rheannon Babcock sued Evans United Shows last year in Clinton County Circuit Court in Missouri. Their 15-month-old daughter, Pressley Bartonek, touched an electrically charged fence last May in Wichita and died five days later.

An autopsy report says that a test by an electrical company showed 290 volts coming from the fence. The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $25,000.

Attorney Russ Hazlewood is representing Evans United Shows in Plattsburg, Missouri. He says the lawsuit remains in the early stages and that the business has asked to have the case transferred to Kansas where some key witnesses are.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A 27-year-old Springfield woman was convicted of second-degree murder in a death that occurred after she told friends the victim had sexually assaulted her.

A Greene County jury found Kearstain Sleeth guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday for her role in 31-year-old Curtis Payne’s death.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Payne was killed in February 2014 after Sleeth told friends he had assaulted her. Prosecutors say after she drove the three teenagers to Payne’s house, they broke in shot Payne while Sleeth waited outside.

Prosecutors argued Sleeth was guilty of murder even though she didn’t directly participate in the shooting.

Sleeth’s attorney argued during the trial that she was a victim because of the violence against her.

Two of the teens have pleaded guilty and the third is scheduled for trial in February.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Kansas swearing in a new governor (all times local):

3:15 p.m.
Republican Jeff Colyer has been sworn in as the new Kansas governor.
Colyer took the oath of office Wednesday in a Statehouse ceremony after former GOP Gov. Sam Brownback resigned.

Brownback stepped down to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Colyer was Brownback’s lieutenant governor for seven years.

The 57-year-old Colyer was the state’s longest-serving lieutenant governor.

He is facing a skeptical, Republican-controlled Legislature that is deeply divided over a court mandate to increase spending on public schools.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in October that funding for public schools remains constitutionally inadequate. Brownback proposed phasing in a $513 million increase over five years and relying on growth in state revenues to pay for it.

___
11:40 a.m.
Kansas Democrats aren’t waiting until incoming Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer takes office to launch a website criticizing him.

The state Democratic Party unveiled its website Wednesday ahead of Colyer’s swearing-in. The site ties Colyer to the policies of departing GOP Gov. Sam Brownback and is www.BrownbackClone.com .

Colyer has served as Brownback’s lieutenant governor for seven years. Brownback is stepping down as governor to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Brownback’s popularity waned after his 2014 re-election because of the persistent state budget problems that followed aggressive income tax cuts that Brownback championed in 2012 and 2013. Legislators rolled back most of the tax cuts last year.

Colyer was Brownback’s running mate in 2010 and 2014. He is running for a full, four-year term as governor this year.