Des Moines man held after being found with explosives near air base

A Des Moines man’s being held in Omaha after causing a scare at the airbase there. The man’s identified only as a 20-year-old from Des Moines who’s apparently a lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve. It’s not clear whether he had business at Offut Air Force Base near Omaha, but a guard who stopped him entering the gate checkpoint about 3-30 yesterday afternoon says he spotted a knife on the seat of the man’s pickup truck. Guards say bomb-sniffing dogs went on alert, too, and after a search they found a quarter-pound of C-four military plastic explosive behind the seat of the pickup. After a few hours of questioning last night, officials at the base say they’re not satisfied with the man’s explanation that it was just an honest mistake.