TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says challenges facing Kansas can be resolved only by strengthening families and changing the culture from one that focuses too much on personal satisfaction rather than obligation and sacrifice.

Brownback’s inaugural speech on Monday came hours before the Legislature was scheduled to convene for its 2015 session, where lawmakers face massive budget deficits widely blamed on tax cuts endorsed by the Republican governor.

He says too many people have not progressed in recent years because of a slowly growing economy or overly paternalistic big government.

Brownback says solutions to problems facing the state are “principally cultural and moral,” not as dictated by government but “emitting from our hearts alive with a loving God.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Growers in Kansas and across the nation have seeded far fewer acres of winter wheat for harvest this year.

A report released Monday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service shows a 5 percent drop in U.S. winter wheat acres compared to a year ago, with 40.5 million acres seeded.

Most of that acreage is hard red winter wheat, the class most commonly seeded in Kansas. Nationwide hard red acres total 29.5 million acres.

Kansas remains the nation’s biggest wheat producer with 9.4 million acres planted for harvest in 2015. That is a 2 percent decrease from a year ago.

Texas growers put in 5.9 million acres of wheat, followed by Oklahoma with 5.1 million acres.

Winter wheat is seeded in the fall and harvested in late spring or early summer.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — For the first time since 1966, Kansas will have no females in statewide offices, at least until the next election.

The Kansas City Star reports that since April 28, 1966 women have held at least one statewide office in Kansas. That ends Monday, when all eight statewide elected officials will be men, after Sandy Praeger leaves the insurance commissioner’s office.

While some women’s advocates bemoan the situation, leaders from both parties, including Gov. Sam Brownback, downplay the milestone. They note three women were on the statewide ballot in November and likely lost because they were Democrats facing GOP incumbents, not because of their gender.

They also note U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins is in office and Susan Wagle will be the first female Kansas Senate president.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A New York man traveling across the nation on a bicycle has stopped in Lawrence, Kansas, to volunteer his time and services.

Courtney Bibb started the trip that’s expected to last six months in October, and has planned to stop at 20 cities to volunteer at different charities and organizations. He recently rolled into Lawrence, which was his 11th stop, to help out at Theatre Lawrence.

Bibb says he has several goals for his journey, among them raising awareness about the importance of volunteering and spotlighting lesser-known nonprofits.

Bibb estimates his tour of the nation will cost him around $14,000. He tells the Lawrence Journal-World  that he had some extra money that could have gone toward a new apartment but instead decided to pursue his cross-country adventure.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — As the number of home-schooled children continues to rise, a new coalition has formed.

The Kansas City Star reports that the group of home-school alumni calls itself the Coalition for Responsible Home Education. The group argues that public oversight is needed to ensure children are doing schoolwork and not being forced to work at family businesses or, worse yet, being abused.

Currently there are few regulations.

In Missouri, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education makes clear on its website that it does not regulate or monitor home schooling. About the only rule governing home schooling in Kansas is that parents should notify the local school district when they stop doing it.

Home-school backers insist that parents who make the decision to home-school are typically committed to the task.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has offered an optimistic outlook for the state while celebrating his impending second inauguration — even as he faces a budget hole of hundreds of millions of dollars.

More than 1,000 people attended Brownback’s inaugural ball Saturday, where he touted Kansas’ Republican leaders, small government and low taxes.

The Topeka Capital-Journal  reports that Brownback also declared his confidence in the Legislature ability to deal with the state’s issues.

Brownback will deliver his State of the State address Thursday and his spending plan Friday. He has said his budget is the start of the discussion and that the Legislature will decide “what they want to do.”

The budget gaps arose after aggressive personal income tax cuts enacted at Brownback’s urging in 2012 and 2013.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s chief of staff says tax revenue increase proposals will be part of a plan to plug a budget hole.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Jon Hummel also confirmed that education spending won’t remain untouched when Brownback unveils his budget plans for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 next week.

Brownback announced plans last month to fix a $279 million gap in this year’s budget mainly through transfers from other state funds. Analysts said the approach could cause a shortfall for the budget year that begins in July to grow from $436 million to $648 million.

The shortfalls arose after aggressive tax cuts were enacted at Brownback’s urging. Hummel says, “Revenue didn’t come in quite as was projected.”

The governor’s spokeswoman didn’t return messages from The Associated Press.