The latest on the swearing in of Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (all times local):.

Democrat Laura Kelly has been sworn in as the new governor in Republican-leaning Kansas.

Kelly took the oath of office Monday on the south steps of the Statehouse in front of banners that declared, “Equality,” ”Education” and “Opportunity.”

She was a veteran state senator from Topeka who pitched herself to voters as a no-nonsense problem-solver who could work with Republicans. The GOP has supermajorities in the Legislature.

Her victory last year drew national attention partly because she defeated Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. He’s a staunch conservative who touted an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Kelly is the state’s 48th governor.

Her swearing-in followed those of Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and State Treasurer Jake LaTurner.

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By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ new Democratic governor is expected to take office promising a bipartisan administration even as she and her supporters celebrate a sharp break with her conservative Republican predecessors.

Gov.-elect Laura Kelly was scheduled to be sworn in as the state’s 48th governor Monday, with her inaugural address likely to stress the broad themes that underpinned her successful campaign last year. A veteran state senator from Topeka, Kelly pitched herself to voters as a no-nonsense problem-solver who could work with Republicans, who control the Legislature.

The banners are going up! #KSinauguration pic.twitter.com/h0cgsHbL9p

— KS Lt. Gov. elect Lynn Rogers (@LynnRogers4KS) January 10, 2019

“I’m hoping to hear that we’re going to have change, that we’re hopeful for the future, to get Kansas back on track,” said Kansas House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat. “Her tone so far has been bipartisanship, and I think she’ll continue that.”

Kelly’s victory drew national attention because Kansas is a Republican-leaning state and her opponent, departing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, touted his history of advising President Donald Trump. Kobach won a narrow victory over Gov. Jeff Colyer in the GOP primary after Trump endorsed Kobach.

But Kelly made the race more about whether Kobach’s fiscal policies would align with those of former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who pushed legislators to slash state income taxes as an economic stimulus. Most voters deemed Brownback’s experiment a failure because of the budget woes that followed, and legislators reversed most of the cuts in 2017.

The new governor has little choice but to work with Republicans, given their large majorities in the Legislature, which was set to open its annual session Monday afternoon. Even as voters were electing Kelly, in more local Statehouse races, GOP conservatives gained seats.

Top Republicans have said they will hold Kelly to a campaign promise not to increase taxes to pay for additional state spending. They will learn more about Kelly’s budget proposals later in the week, after she gives the annual State of the State address Wednesday evening.

“Any areas that we have common agreement or we can compromise and work on, we’ll do it,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Kansas City-area Republican.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following an alleged domestic dispute.

On Sunday, police and EMS were called to the 900 block of Hancock in Salina after a 21-year-old  woman reported that a man had pushed her into a dresser, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into a wall while strangling her, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

The incident caused an 18-inch hole in the wallboard.  She also told police the man struck her in the back of the head with a lantern with such force that the lantern had broken. He also punched her in the face, and hit her in the back with a mirror that broke.

Forrester said the woman’s injuries were consistent with what she reported had happened. A family member transported the woman to Salina Regional Health Center.

The suspect Dallas Taddiken fled the scene before police arrived. He was located a short time later in the 1200 Block of Flint Avenue and arrested.

Taddiken is being held on suspicion of aggravated domestic battery and domestic violence/criminal damage to property, according to Forrester.

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s early, but the current flu season is shaping up to be gentler than last winter’s unusually brutal one, U.S. health officials said.

In most parts of the country, most illnesses right now are being caused by a flu strain that leads to fewer hospitalizations and deaths as the kind of flu that dominated a year ago, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines also work better against it, said the CDC’s Dr. Alicia Fry.

So is the U.S. in for a milder flu season?

“If (this strain) continues to be the predominant virus, that is what we’d expect,” Fry said.

Last season, an estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications — the disease’s highest death toll in at least four decades. In recent years, flu-related deaths have ranged from about 12,000 to 56,000, according to the CDC.

The CDC has no estimate of deaths so far this season, partly because it’s so early. Flu usually takes off after Christmas and peaks around February.

On Friday, the CDC released its regular weekly flu update, showing that it was reported to be widespread in 30 states last week, up from 24 the week before.

The health agency also released new estimates of how the flu season is playing out. It said:

—About 6 million to 7 million Americans have become ill since flu season kicked off in the fall.

—About half were sick enough to go to see a doctor.

—Roughly 70,000 to 80,000 have been hospitalized.

The CDC usually doesn’t make those estimates until a flu season is over, but researchers have been working on the model for nearly a decade and believe it is sound enough to use while the season is still going on, officials said.

Because the model is new, CDC researchers said they aren’t able to compare those estimates to previous flu seasons.

Last season, an estimated 49 million Americans got sick from the flu, 23 million went for medical care and 960,000 were hospitalized.

Some doctors and nurses were anxious going into this flu season, considering how bad last year was, said Dr. James Steinberg, chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta.

But so far it hasn’t been nearly as severe. “It seems more like a typical flu season,” he said.