OK, I figured it out. I needed the following:
<Style id="style1">
<LineStyle>
<color>40000000</color>
<width>3</width>
</LineStyle>
<PolyStyle>
<color>73FF0000</color>
<fill>1</fill>
<outline>1</outline>
</PolyStyle>
</Style>
and then I put the following line in the Placemark and now the color can be changed.
<styleUrl>#style1</styleUrl>