NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A regional conference next month will focus on ways to encourage schools to get their food from local farmers and the benefits of that.

More than 200 people are expected to attend the March 2 event in Nebraska City. The conference will attract a mix of farmers, ranchers, school food service officials and others concerned about the issue.

Throughout the day, speakers will offer advice on ways to increase the amount of local food served in schools and ways to teach students more about healthy food.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs, Iowa Department of Agriculture and University of Missouri Extension.

More information is available online at https://www.cfra.org/midwest-farm-school .

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Chicago man to over 17 years in prison for robbing a Kearney credit union.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf sentenced 29-year-old Patrick Wigley on Friday to 17 years and six months in prison for the October robbery of the Kearney Eaton Employees Union.

A co-defendant, 27-year-old Thomas Dunlap, was sentenced last month to a little over 11 years for his involvement.

The men were ordered to pay restitution of $122,891.

A third defendant, 28-year-old Clifton Hudson, is awaiting trial.

U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Dunlap and Wrigley entered the credit union on Oct. 17 and Dunlap pulled out a handgun. The men gathered employees into an office and bound their hands with zip ties. They took over $120,000 from a teller’s drawer and vault.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The nation’s only ban on meatpackers owning hogs has ended due to a new Nebraska law that allows processers to control the animals from birth to slaughter.

Gov. Pete Ricketts signed the measure Thursday.

Business and farming groups say the measure will help Nebraska’s hog industry, which has grown slower than in other states.

Opponents have said the bill would give meatpackers too much leverage over farmers and make it harder for farmers who don’t contract with big meatpackers to sell their hogs.

They also criticized Smithfield Foods, a Chinese-owned pork processor that has quietly advocated for the bill and contributed to at least 20 state lawmakers, Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson.

Representatives from 18 four-year colleges and universities will be on the North Platte Community College South Campus on Tuesday.

They will be part of the Spring 2016 College Transfer Fair, the purpose of which is to provide NPCC students with information about the school they are interested in transferring to. That includes details about courses and admissions requirements.

“One of the key factors in transferability is working with an advisor – at both the two-year and four-year institutions,” said Heather Pucket, area advising coordinator at NPCC. “It’s never too early to get started with the four-year plan. If advisors are able to see a student’s four-year plan, it makes it easier to work on the two-year plan, so that coursework transfers seamlessly. We have tools and resources available to help students do that.”

The fair is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon in the fireplace area of the McDonald-Belton Building on NPCC’s South Campus.

The following schools are planning to attend:

Bellevue University

Black Hills State University

Bryan College of Health Sciences

Chadron State College

Clarkson College

Fort Hays State University

Friends University

Hastings College

Midland University

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Peru State College

Regional West Medical Center School of Radiologic Tech

South Dakota School of Mines

University of Nebraska-Kearney

University of Nebraska-Kearney – Criminal Justice

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

University of Nebraska-Omaha

Wayne State College

A 56-year-old North Platte woman is facing a felony theft charge after she allegedly scammed a Nebraska couple.

In December of 2015, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received information from a Moorefield couple that they had possibly been scammed by a travel agent in North Platte.

The couple reported that they had booked a large family vacation to Hawaii in February of 2015 through a travel agent, later identified as Ella Mae Sculley.  The couple alleged that they made two large payments to Sculley but began finding problems with the vacation plans.

According to Investigators, the couple contacted the parent travel company and found that their vacation had not been booked.  The say they made numerous attempts to contact Sculley, but got no response.

After a lengthy investigation into Sculley’s business banking accounts, it was determined that Sculley had indeed received two checks from the alleged victims, but did not make any payments to the parent travel company.

It was determined that the couple has lost over $18,000 due to the incident.

On February 11, Sculley was contacted by law enforcement and placed under arrest.  She was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with felony theft by deception.

Officials say the investigation into the matter is ongoing.  It is unknown if there are more potential victims.