OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Nebraska girls are being honored as the top youth volunteers in the state.

Seventeen-year-old Mary Degraff of Plattsmouth and 12-year-old Ella Alberts of Omaha will both receive $1,000 and an engraved silver medallion as part of the honor.

They will also receive a free trip to Washington, D.C., in May to attend a national gathering of all the winners of the Prudential Spirit of Community awards. During that event, 10 state winners will be named America’s top youth volunteers of the year.

Degraff was nominated because of her efforts to raise money for a disaster relief trailer to help pets during an emergency.

Alberts has raised more than $1,300 over the past four years for animal shelters by running a lemonade stand.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Once near extinction, the bald eagle population is seeing a spike in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

Warm temperatures ahead mean the birds are following their waterfowl prey as they head north. Joel Jorgensen, Nebraska Game and Parks’ nongame bird program manager, says the migration makes it prime time for eagle-viewing.

The Game and Parks department documented a record 162 active bald eagle nests in 2016, a huge jump from when the state recorded its first active nest in about a century in 1991.

Jorgensen says the eagle population will flourish as long as illegal shooting of the birds is minimized and the pesticide DDT stays banned. Bald eagles are protected by federal law.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island school board has approved terms for a proposed $5 million donation earmarked for renovation of the district’s Memorial Stadium.

The agreement with Lanny Martin and the Martin family was accepted by the board Thursday. The field will be renamed Jack Martin Field for the father of Lanny and his siblings. Jack Martin taught at the senior high and for years was timekeeper for the school’s football and basketball games.

The stadium was completed in 1947 and served as a memorial to Hall County veterans who were killed during World War II. The stadium will retain its name.

The Grand Island Public Schools Foundation and the school district each will contribute about $2 million, providing around $9 million for the project.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Officials in Omaha and Lincoln are raising concerns about a Nebraska bill that would overturn various local gun regulations in favor of statewide policies.

Elected city leaders and Omaha’s police union voiced opposition Friday to the proposal, which supporters say would eliminate a patchwork of local rules.

Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln says he sponsored the bill to keep lawful gun owners from unintentionally violating a city ordinance, such possession in Omaha without registering with their weapon.

Omaha Police Sgt. Aaron Hanson says the registry plays a crucial role in his department’s law enforcement efforts, as do local rules designed to clamp down on gun violence.

Senators tried to pass a similar measure last year but fell one vote short of the support needed to overcome a legislative filibuster.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors say a man charged with second-degree murder told friends that he used his pickup to fatally run down an Omaha convenience store clerk last month.

Police testified Friday in 45-year-old Dirk Blume’s preliminary hearing Friday that two friends of Blume’s say he confessed to them in the days after the Jan. 7 incident that he had run over 40-year-old Seth Hansen.

A detective testified Friday that one friend said Blume had stopped by the convenience store where Hansen worked seeking a can of chewing tobacco. Police say when Hansen told Blume the store was closed and refused to reopen it, an argument ensued.

Police say Blume’s pickup was seen on surveillance video taken outside the store where Hansen was killed.

Blume was ordered Friday to stand trial.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 24-year-old Omaha man has been sentenced to prison for attempting to rob a bank.

U.S. Attorney for Nebraska Deborah Gilg said Thursday in a news release that Cameron Ammons was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He had previously pleaded guilty to the charge.

Officials say that on March 4, Ammons ran through the first door of the vestibule of the Centris Federal Credit Union in Omaha. As he approached the second door that allows access into the bank, a uniformed off-duty officer working there drew his gun and chased Ammons, who ran from the bank. Other officers caught and arrested Ammons about 30 minutes later. Nothing was taken from the bank.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver has died in a rollover crash on the north side of Grand Island.

The accident was reported a little after 3 p.m. Wednesday. Police say the northbound vehicle went out of control and rolled on U.S. Highway 281.

The name of the driver, who was alone in the vehicle, has not been released.

The crash is being investigated.

WILBER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have arrested two Lincoln man suspected of setting fire to a trailer in Saline County.

22-year-old Dennis Tomka and 19-year-old Cody Cushman were picked up Tuesday on arrest warrants alleging felony arson. Online jail records say both remained in custody Thursday. Court records don’t list the names of attorneys who could comment for them.

Authorities say the fire was set Friday. It’s unclear how much damage was caused. No injuries have been reported.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy he met through a networking app.

Court records say 43-year-old Esteban Bueno is charged with sexual assault of a child. Jail records say he remained in custody Thursday. The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

A court document says the boy told police he and Bueno had chatted on the app and then met in person outside a Lincoln cafe on Jan. 28 when Bueno picked him up and drove him to his apartment. The boy said Bueno assaulted him there and then drove him back to the cafe.

Bueno’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 1.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — An animal shelter is teaming up with a domestic violence service to help victims remove their pets from domestic abuse situations.

The partnership between the Animal Shelter of Northeast Nebraska and Bright Horizons of Norfolk is part of the “House of Hope” program. The animal shelter is able to provide kennel space to protect pets caught in the middle of domestic violence situations, thanks to a Norfolk Area Community Foundation grant.

According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, nearly half of the domestic abuse victims who remain in violent households do so out of fear for their animals.

Bright Horizons Executive Director Linda Olson says partnering with the animal shelter makes one less barrier victims need to overcome when deciding to leave their situation, because the transitional shelter is unable to house pets.