OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a six-month prison sentence for a Nebraska man who was manufacturing fireworks and explosive devices in a shed behind his Ralston house.

Jeffrey Belmont had argued he shouldn’t have been convicted because he was making explosives as a hobby, not a business. But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the law prohibiting making explosives still applied to Belmont.

Authorities found 36 completed explosives and 28 partially completed devices along with more than 2,000 pounds of chemicals used to make flash powder.

The court says the quantity of materials found shows Belmont was engaged in manufacturing explosives, so it upheld the sentence.

Belmont pleaded guilty last year, but he appealed to question whether the law applied to his hobby.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln program is looking for some grandmas and grandpas who want to work with children.

The Foster Grandparent program, adults spend 15 to 20 hours a week at schools, usually working one-on-one with kids.

Elisa Stutheit with the Aging Partners program says the Foster Grandparents program volunteers get a tax-free stipend of $2.65 an hour that doesn’t affect qualification for food stamps, subsidized housing or Supplemental Social Security income. Volunteers also receive mileage reimbursements or a bus pass, paid leave and paid holidays.

Volunteers must be 55 or older and have incomes of no more than 200 percent of the poverty level, which is a little under $24,000 a year for a single person.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy has died at a water park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Police spokesman Officer Cameron Morgan says the boy died Sunday at the Schlitterbahn Water Park. Morgan says he does not yet know the circumstances of the death.

Among the park’s attractions is the Verruckt water slide, which is promoted as the world’s tallest water slide.

A park official did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Sunday.

There was no additional information released about the fatality.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The remains of Dale Robert Geddes, a Grand Island native who was serving in the Marine Corps when he was killed 72 years ago during World War II, have been identified through DNA testing and are coming home.

Graveside services with full military honors are scheduled for Aug. 22 in Grand Island.

Geddes died in the Battle of Tarawa, which took place Nov. 20-23, 1943, as American troops fought to capture the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. About 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and another 2,000 wounded.

Geddes was born on Feb. 21, 1922, in Grand Island. He graduated from high school in 1940 and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves on Nov. 20, 1942.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an Omaha man was killed in an early morning motorcycle crash.

Omaha police say 36-year-old Charles J. Harman Jr. was riding southbound on 50th Street in Omaha around 1 a.m. Sunday when his motorcycle struck a curb, left the road and ran into a light pole.

Police say Harman was pronounced dead at the scene. He was wearing a helmet.

Police say they’re still investigating the crash.

RAYMOND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person was killed in an early morning crash in eastern Nebraska.

The Lancaster County sheriff’s office says the crash was discovered shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday about one mile east of Raymond. Authorities say the person driving a black Ford F-150 pickup was headed west on West Raymond Road when the pickup crossed the center line and entered a ditch, striking a guard rail and three trees.

Authorities say the driver was wearing a seat belt, and the truck’s air bags were deployed. No names have been released. Deputies say they’re still investigating.

NIOBRARA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has planned several events at Niobrara State Park this month.

On Saturday there will be a class on how to avoid hypothermia while waterfowl hunting. Participants are encouraged to bring chest waders and hunting gear.

On Aug. 12 there will be a National Park Service presentation about the Missouri National Recreational River.

A powwow is scheduled Aug. 12-14 for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. A Diabetes Fun Run is scheduled for Aug. 12 at 5 p.m.

The park sits west of Niobrara in northeast Nebraska’s Knox County. A park entry permit is required.

Call 402-857-3373 for more information.

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Police say the ex-boyfriend of woman was shot when he broke into her La Vista home and encountered an armed house-sitter.

Police say a man and a woman were house-sitting for a friend when they were awakened around 2:15 a.m. Saturday by an intruder trying to kick open the door of their bedroom.

Investigators say one of the house-sitters, 19-year-old Zachary Schmid, fired a gun and hit the intruder, who then fled.

Police say they found 26-year-old Darrick Minner, an ex-boyfriend of the homeowner, about four miles away with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital for surgery. Police say he is expected to survive.

Investigators say Schmid was questioned and released.

Police have not said if Minner will face charges.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lancaster County jury has acquitted a mental health counselor accused of overbilling Lancaster County and his employer.

Online court records say 41-year-old Jason Christensen was found not guilty Thursday of felony theft.

Authorities had said Christensen billed the county’s mental health program and his employer, Counseling Affiliates of Nebraska, for hundreds of hours he didn’t work between February and June of 2014. The total was more than $17,600.

His attorney has said Christensen billed the same way from 2006 until 2015 and never was told to do it any differently.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The trial of a Norfolk woman accused of causing her daughter’s death won’t be moved.

Court records say Judge James Kube denied a motion Tuesday by Carla Montoya for a change of venue. The motion said media coverage and online comments by potential jurors would prevent Montoya from having a fair trial in Madison County. Kube disagreed.

The judge did, however, granted a motion to discard statements Montoya made during the first of three police interviews. Her motion said she was not read a warning about her rights during that interview, as she should have been. The judge agreed. He rejected her motion to suppress statements from the other interviews.

Montoya’s pleaded not guilty to intentional child abuse resulting in death. Her trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 12.