JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on Monday’s inauguration for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and other statewide elected officials (all times local):
9:00 p.m.
Sara Evans is capping off a day of inaugural festivities for Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens at an inaugural ball.
Evans sang Monday to a packed crowd of hundreds in the Capitol rotunda. She’s a native of New Franklin, Missouri.
Evans played hits such as “I Miss Missouri,” ’’Suds in the Bucket,” and “I Could Not Ask for More.”
The governor and his wife, Sheena Greitens, danced to the traditional “Missouri Waltz” before Evans performed.
The ball is a Missouri tradition. The ceremony included lawmakers and their families walking down a staircase in the rotunda.
This year, Greitens also showed a video of himself touting his time as a boxer, his military experience and his work founding a charity for veterans.
___
3:20 p.m.
Gov. Eric Greitens’ inaugural festivities are being funded by some of the state’s most prominent businesses.
Greitens has not revealed a cost for Monday’s privately funded celebrations, but he has released a list of “benefactors” that have helped finance the events.
That list includes such businesses as Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, Enterprise, Express Scripts, General Motors, Monsanto and Wal-Mart.
Also on the list is the ride-share firm Uber, which is providing free rides to people in the Jefferson City area during the inaugural festivities.
Greitens’ inaugural events appear to be more elaborate than those of the past two governors, Democrat Jay Nixon and Republican Matt Blunt, whose events cost $250,000 or less.
Missouri’s most expensive inaugural was Democratic Gov. Bob Holden’s $1 million celebration in 2001.
___
2:45 p.m.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and First Lady Sheena Greitens are shaking hands now that the Republican is officially in office.
The couple smiled and greeted people at the governor’s mansion in Jefferson City after Greitens’ Monday inauguration. They shook hands in a room decorated with portraits of former first ladies, including the most recent First Lady Georganne Nixon.
A line of hundreds of people hoping to meet the couple wrapped around the block.
Tour guides dressed in period-piece, floor-length gowns with white frills wandered around the mansion. Friends of the Missouri Governor’s Mansion Executive Director Rebecca Gordon said some dresses were typical of the Victorian era, when the mansion was built.
___
2 p.m.
Country music star and Missouri native Sara Evans will perform at an inaugural ball for Gov. Eric Greitens.
Greitens’ senior adviser, Austin Chambers, announced Evans’ performance to reporters shortly before the Republican’s Monday inauguration.
Her performance will top off a day of ceremonies for Greitens and four other newly elected Republican statewide officials.
Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, Treasurer Eric Schmitt, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Attorney General Josh Hawley also were sworn in Monday.
The inaugural ball is a Missouri tradition. Greitens and First Lady Sheena Greitens will dance to the “Missouri Waltz” before Evans performs.
Evans’ songs include country hits “Born to Fly,” ’’Perfect” and “Suds in the Bucket.”
___
1 p.m.
Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens’ first act in office is to ban lobbyist gifts to executive branch employees.
Greitens within an hour of his Monday inauguration signed an executive order banning state employees in his administration from accepting or soliciting gifts from lobbyists.
The executive order also bans employees in the governor’s office from lobbying the executive branch while Greitens is in office.
Greitens campaigned heavily on ethics and has promised to clean up Capitol culture. He also supports a law to ban lobbyist gifts to elected officials and wants to make elected officials wait to lobby for the same amount of time as they served in office.
Greitens did not take questions from reporters after signing the executive order in his Capitol office.
___
12:20 p.m.
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is pledging to “fight for change” as he takes office as Missouri’s 56th governor.
In his inaugural remarks Monday, Greitens said Missourians have been talking about change for decades and he intends to help make it happen.
The first-time politician who is a former Navy SEAL officer said he comes to the Capitol as “an outsider, to do the people’s work.” He pledged to deliver results.
He didn’t set forth specific policy proposals in his speech. But a Greitens adviser says the new governor plans to start by banning executive branch officials from accepting lobbyist gifts.
Greitens succeeds Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
It marks the first time a Republican governor has been paired with supermajorities in the Missouri House and Senate.
___
12 p.m.
Republican Eric Greitens has been sworn in as Missouri’s 56th governor.
Greitens took the oath of office Monday outside the Capitol building in Jefferson City. The first Jewish governor of the state placed one hand on a Bible owned by a World War I veteran as he recited the oath. He was flanked by his wife and two children, accompanied by their grandparents.
Greitens replaces term-limited Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
His inauguration marks the first time that Missouri Republicans have supermajorities in the state House and Senate and control of the governor’s mansion.
Republicans Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, Treasurer Eric Schmitt, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Attorney General Josh Hawley also were sworn into office.
More than 6,000 people packed the Capitol lawn for the event on a chilly overcast day.
___
11:25 a.m.
Incoming Gov. Eric Grietens is expected to enact on a ban on lobbyist gifts for executive branch officials as one of his first official actions.
Greitens is to take the oath of office at noon Monday during a ceremony on the front steps of the Capitol building. Shortly afterward, he is to head inside to sign some executive orders.
Greitens senior adviser Austin Chambers says the new governor will ban all lobbyist gifts in the executive branch and also prohibit those employed by the governor’s office from becoming lobbyists after leaving their jobs.
The Republican had campaigned as an outsider with a pledge to clean up the political atmosphere in Jefferson City. He defeated Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster in the November elections.
___
11 a.m.
Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitiens is honoring veterans, teachers, law enforcement officers, farmers and others as part of a ceremony recognizing “Missouri heroes.”
Greitens presented coins and posed for photos with about 150 people on Monday during a Capitol ceremony preceding his inauguration.
The ceremony started with a prayer and then featured an address by Donna Axelson, the mother of Matthew “Axe” Axelson, a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan. She talked about the heroism of veterans and the importance of patriotism.
In a speech following Donna Axelson, Greitens said the Missouri hero awards were intended to take the focus off “celebrities” and place it on “the best representatives of the Missouri people.”
The ceremony ended with a prayer and the procession of the honorees.
___
10:30 a.m.
Missouri Gov.-elect Eric Greitens other newly elected officials are starting inauguration day with an interfaith prayer service.
Christian and Jewish religious leaders prayed for Greitens during a Monday service at a Catholic church near the Capitol grounds in Jefferson City.
Greitens will be the first Jewish governor when the Republican is sworn in later Monday.
He sat by his wife, Sheena Greitens, after hugging outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and First Lady Georganne Nixon. Hundreds of others, including Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, filled the church pews.
A rabbi opened the service, which also featured Christian pastors from across the state. Concord Baptist Church Pastor Monte Shinkle prayed for Greitens and other newly elected officials to be servants, both for the state and God.
He cautioned against elected officials acting in self-interest. He said leaders will be held accountable and only those who serve well will be praised by God.
___
8:45 a.m.
Thousands of people are expected at the Missouri Capitol for the inauguration of Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens.
Organizers of Monday’s inaugural festivities have set up 6,000 chairs on the Capitol lawn for an outdoor ceremony in which Greitens is to take the oath of office along with four other statewide elected officials.
Huge U.S. and Missouri flags have been hung in front of the Capitol columns. And a production company has erected large television screens on either side of a stage for those who may not have a good view of the ceremony.
The 42-year-old Greitens is to be sworn into office at noon as Missouri’s 56th governor. He is succeeding Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who was barred by term-limits from seeking re-election.
___
12:15 a.m.
Eric Greitens has been a Navy SEAL officer, Rhodes scholar, White House fellow, charity founder and best-selling author.
On Monday, the 42-year-old Republican will be sworn into office as Missouri’s 56th governor.
He’s promised to shake up politics, spur economic growth and focus on ethics. He’ll replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
Greitens’ inauguration will mark the first time in state history that Republicans have supermajorities in both the House and Senate and control of the governor’s mansion.
Newly elected Republicans Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, Treasurer Eric Schmitt, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Attorney General Josh Hawley also will be inaugurated.
Greitens will be the first Jewish governor and will start the day with an interfaith service at a Catholic church. Celebrations will end with a Capitol ball.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.