LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say Head Coach of Nebraska volleyball John Cook suffered minor injuries when his bicycle was hit by a car.

The accident happened Wednesday morning.

Cook says the impact cracked his helmet and he landed on his right shoulder. He wasn’t seriously injured.

KETV says police ticketed the driver of the car who turned in front of Cook.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A donkey who became a friend to some U.S. Marines in Iraq has died at his new home near Omaha.

Smoke died late Tuesday or early Wednesday at the Miracle Hills Ranch and Stable.

Ranch owner Brenda Sheets says Smoke looked fine Tuesday morning, but was lethargic by the afternoon.

Smoke became a friend to the Marines in Iraq three years ago. Col. John Folsom was among those who took care of him until 2009, when the Marines left the area.

Folsom, now retired, was the driving force behind the operation to bring Smoke to the U.S. in May 2011. He says Smoke was a “battle buddy.”

In Nebraska, Smoke became a therapy animal to help military personnel recover from post-traumatic stress disorder.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former firefighter and paramedic for the city of York is suing the southeastern Nebraska city, saying she was wrongly fired following surgery for an injury.

Lisa Peter says in her lawsuit that the city discriminated against her because she’s a woman and because of her disability. Her attorney, Kathleen Neary of Lincoln, says Peter had surgery for a broken leg in 2010. The injury was not work-related.

Peter says she asked for light duty work until she could heal, but city officials refused, even though they had done so for an ill male firefighter. Peter was fired within months of her injury.

The federal lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for lost past and future wages, among other damages.

A city attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska at Omaha says security has been increased after a student reported being sexually assaulted by a man in her dormitory room.

The university sent students an email saying a student at the Scott Village resident hall reported the assault Tuesday morning. In the email Tuesday night, the university says the student didn’t recognize the man and it’s unclear how he entered her room.

Omaha police are in charge of the investigation. Omaha police and UNO security have increased their presence on campus.

Students are asked to lock their doors, secure windows and make sure they know who’s at the door before opening it.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a $270,000 grant to buy a section of land near Lincoln to help protect an endangered beetle.

With the purchase of the land, the Saline Wetland Conservation Partnership will be able to better protect habitat vital to the Salt Creek tiger beetle.

The half-inch-long beetle is considered one of the rarest insects in the United States. It was listed as endangered in October 2005.

The beetles are metallic brown to dark-olive green and live only in the rare saline wetlands on the north side of Lincoln and in neighboring Saunders County south of Ceresco.

The grant is part of nearly $33 million in grants to 21 state announced Tuesday to protect the habitats of threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two people have reported being hit by blow gun darts in Lincoln.

Police say a 50-year-old man was jogging Monday morning when he stopped at a traffic signal near downtown. Officer Katie Flood says the man felt a sharp pain and saw that a 6-inch-long dart had been shot into his left leg.

Later on Monday, a woman walking in downtown Lincoln was struck by a dart in her left leg. Flood says a witness told police a man in a nearby car said “I got her!”

The two victims’ injuries didn’t require hospital treatment.

No arrests have been reported.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say three separate traffic stops on Interstate 80 netted a total of 55 pounds of marijuana and led to drug charges against five people.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 6 pounds of pot were seized when a trooper stopped a car for speeding in Hamilton County on Monday. The driver was arrested.

On Saturday, troopers found 10 pounds of marijuana after stopping a vehicle for failure to signal at an exit in York County. The driver and a passenger were arrested.

Last Friday, officials say 39 pounds of marijuana and 2 pound of hashish were found when a trooper stopped a car for following too close near the Lincoln Airport exit in Lancaster County. The driver was charged.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The Kearney Hub is naming Julie Speirs as its publisher.

The Hub reported Tuesday that Speirs will move from her current position as vice president and general manager to become publisher on Sept. 1.

In her new position, Speirs will lead a newspaper and media company that includes the Hub, a variety of digital marketing services, commercial printing and agricultural publications. Speirs has had a 34-year newspaper career, including 29 years with the Hub. She was publisher of the Columbus Telegram from 1995 to 2000.

Speirs will replace Steve Chatelain, who has been publisher of the Hub since 1993. He is resigning to joining his wife, Mary Jo, in operating a home health care franchise.

The Hub is owned by the World-Herald Co.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Madeleine Leininger, an international leader in transcultural nursing, has died. She was 87.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center, where Leininger had been an adjunct professor of nursing, announced Tuesday that Leininger died Friday in Omaha of lung failure.

A native of Sutton, Leininger was often recognized as the founder of transcultural nursing, which is the study and practice of providing culturally compatible care for people of diverse cultures.

A nurse and anthropologist, Leininger believed that to make health care effective for people of diverse cultures, health professionals needed to establish educational programs and culturally competent care practices. She and her colleagues studied about 100 cultures worldwide and established transcultural nursing courses worldwide.

Leininger was inducted into the Nebraska Nursing Hall of Fame in 2009.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle has named a veteran police officer as the city’s next police chief.

Todd Schmaderer, who joined the department in 1996, was introduced during a news conference on Tuesday. Schmaderer replaces Alex Hayes, who retired in March.

The 40-year-old Schmaderer has served as precinct captain, shift commander and detective. He served as deputy chief since 2010.

Interim Police Chief David Baker led the department before Schmaderer’s appointment but wasn’t selected as a finalist for the job.

Schmaderer will be sworn in Wednesday night during a ceremony at City Hall.