Loan Guarantee Upheld in Gage County

A ruling in Gage County District Court recently upheld a loan guarantee owed the State Bank of Odell by the City of Beatrice. The guarantee was on an equipment loan from the bank for Blue Valley Automation, a company that has since failed to repay, and gone out of business. The city contended that following extensions of the agreement, the guarantee on the loan had expired. The City of Beatrice plans to appeal the decision. The bankrupt Beatrice Biodiesel plant was sold at a recent auction for $5 million to a Wichita enterprise, Flint Hills Resources. That company, connected with Koch Industries, will commence operations of the plant, which was completed in 2008 at a cost of $50 million dollars. The facility had never reached operating capacity.