LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska at Kearney says it will enact new student housing policies and pay $140,000 to settle a Justice Department lawsuit that accused the university of violating federal law by not allowing assistance animals in student housing.

The settlement filed Thursday follows a 2011 lawsuit on a behalf of a former student, Brittany Hamilton, who had asked to keep a dog in her university apartment to cope with depression and anxiety.

The university has agreed to adopt policies that will allow students to apply for “reasonable accommodations.” Students without an obvious disability may be required to provide a doctor’s note saying the accommodation is necessary.

The university maintains that it didn’t violate any laws. UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen says the settlement helps avoid a costly trial.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Texas man has died after his motorcycle struck one or more deer in the northwestern corner of Nebraska.

The accident occurred a little before 6 a.m. Thursday, about three miles south of Chadron on U.S. Highway 385. The Nebraska State Patrol says a group of motorcyclists were headed north when three of them struck deer that had wandered onto the roadway.

Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins says the dead man has been identified as 53-year-old James Anderson, of Longview, Texas.

The patrol says one of the other motorcyclists suffered minor injuries.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A woman has been given five years in federal prison for robbing a bank in Sidney.

Janetta Lenstrom, of Potter, was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. She’d robbed Sidney Federal Savings & Loan of nearly $21,000 on Jan. 24, 2014.

An FBI affidavit filed to support a bank robbery charge says a bank employee told investigators that she thought she recognized Lenstrom as the robber, who was wearing a stocking cap and sunglasses. The affidavit says Lenstrom’s husband was among the first police officers on the scene but was pulled from the investigation.

He later called her and asked her to meet him at a Sidney parking lot. The Sidney police chief arrested her when she arrived.

A student at North Platte Community College is facing a felony charge after law enforcement found him in possession of a gun on campus.

On the morning of September 2, staff members at NPCC requested a Nebraska State Patrol canine unit after they smelled the odor of drugs coming from inside one of the school’s north campus housing units.

The canine conducted a sweep of the units and alerted to the odor of drugs in one of them.

As a result, law enforcement conducted a search of the unit and located drug paraphernalia and a .22 caliber pistol.

The occupant of the unit, 19-year-old Alexander Maestas, of Sidney, was placed under arrest.

He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with felony possession of a firearm on school grounds and possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction.

According to Nebraska statutes, any person who possesses a firearm in a school, on school grounds, in a school-owned vehicle, or at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event is guilty of the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm at a school. Unlawful possession of a firearm at a school is a Class IV felony.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska nursing home located on the border with South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation will begin accepting Native American residents next year to ease a severe care shortage in one of the nation’s poorest regions.

The president of the Native American Health Management LLC said Wednesday that the facility will serve Oglala Sioux Tribe members.

Ron Ross says he expects the first residents in February or March. The facility is under construction in Whiteclay, a Nebraska village on the South Dakota border that is known for selling millions of cans of beer each year to residents of the dry reservation.

The facility will have 60 beds, with room to expand to 80. Tribe members say it will allow some elderly to live close to relatives and their culture.

VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the body of a missing swimmer has been recovered from a reservoir in northern Nebraska.

Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott says in a news release that 29-year-old Michael Richard, of Valentine, had been reported missing Sunday. He’d been seen swimming in the Powder Horn area of Merritt Reservoir.

Scott says a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission boat equipped with sonar helped searchers find the body later Sunday. It was found in the area where Richard had been swimming.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln woman has been chosen as executive director of the Nebraska 150 Celebration that begins in 2017.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and first lady Susanne Shore announced that Regan Anson will serve in the role. She began work on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old has been director of marketing and communications for Peru State College since 2006. She previously served as communications director for former Attorney General Jon Bruning and deputy communications director for former Gov. Mike Johanns.

Anson is a native of Brunswick. She received a bachelor of science degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a master of science degree in organizational management from Peru State College.

The celebration will mark Nebraska’s 150th anniversary as a state.