SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – About 400 employees of Aurora Bank in Scottsbluff have been given layoff notices.
They work for the Aurora Loan Services division that is being bought by a Lewisville, Texas-based mortgage company, Nationstar.
Aurora Bank FSB is a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
Nationstar Executive Vice President says his company has talked to Aurora’s managers and supervisors and will be holding a job fair Wednesday and Thursday to talk to the rest of the employees. He says Nationstar intends to hire a significant number of the Aurora employees.
The purchase is expected to close May 31. The deal includes the Aurora Loan Services building.

 

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) – A South Carolina man convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Fremont in 2008 has been sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison.
Thirty-year-old Joshua Keadle, of Swansea, S.C. was sentenced for first-degree sexual assault on Tuesday in Dodge County District Court. A jury last month rejected Keadle’s impotence defense and found him guilty of assaulting the girl in a college residence hall.
Keadle sought a new trial, which the judge rejected on Tuesday.
Keadle was a student at what was then Midland Lutheran College. His accuser, now 18, didn’t report the crime until 2011, after Keadle was questioned in the disappearance of a Peru State College student, Tyler Thomas, in December 2010. No charges have been filed against Keadle in that case.

 

 

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) – Officials believe an equipment malfunction may have caused a major power outage in Alliance in the Nebraska Panhandle.
The outage happened Monday night and lasted for more than four hours. The blackout also affected Hemingford, which lost power for about an hour.
Alliance officials believe there was an equipment problem with the city’s electric supplier, the Western Area Power Agency.
City Manager J.D. Cox the utility is still sorting out the problems and will update the city as more information becomes available.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Alegent Health is acquiring Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, a move that will make the not-for-profit healthcare provider a primary teaching site for the university’s health science schools.

Officials of both institutions announced the acquisition of the medical center from Creighton University and Tenet Healthcare on Tuesday. The transaction is expected to close by July 1. No financial terms are being disclosed. Alegent would also assume operations of Creighton’s physician group. Creighton Medical Associates.

Creighton University President Timothy Lannon says the affiliation will provide more training opportunities for students.

Creighton is a Jesuit university and has over 4,200 undergraduates and 3,500 professional school and graduate students. Alegent Health is sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel. CHI has more than 70 healthcare facilities across the United States.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – First lady Michelle Obama will speak at a charity lunch in Omaha on Tuesday.
Obama is the featured speaker at Tuesday’s fundraiser for Girls Inc. After the lunch, Obama will speak at campaign events in Omaha and Des Moines, Iowa.
Michelle Obama is just the latest in a long line of prestigious speakers who have helped Girls Inc. raise money. Past speakers have included President Barack Obama, who appeared in 2005, and billionaire Warren Buffett.
Girls Inc. provides educational and recreational programs for girls.

 

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A judge has ruled that United Healthcare can intervene in a lawsuit filed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska over the state’s planned switch to United Healthcare for health insurance.
Blue Cross had sued earlier this month, alleging improper lobbying on United Healthcare’s behalf.
Judge Steven Burns on Monday approved United Healthcare’s request to intervene.
Nebraska officials have said switching health insurance companies will save taxpayers and state employees a combined $8 million annually, so the state plans to change to United Healthcare on July 1.
Blue Cross officials have argued the change actually will cost an additional $10 million per year because of limits in the United Healthcare network.

 

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) – The trial of a man accused of shooting and wounding a woman a Norfolk has been delayed.
34-year-old Carlos Arevalo-Martinez appeared in Madison County District Court and waived his right to a speedy trial. His attorney, Doug Stratton, says he just received police reports last week and they’ll need time to go over the reports with an interpreter.
Arevalo-Martinez’s trial on charges of first-degree assault and use of a fire to commit a felony is now set for July 9.
He’s accused of shooting 33-year-old Edna Gutierrez on Feb. 14.
He was taken into custody after a standoff with police in Stanton on Feb. 16.
Arevalo-Martinez remains in jail on $1 million bond.