Hackbarth regains a House leadership role

The Republican state legislator whom police last November found carrying a gun near a Planned Parenthood clinic has regained a Minnesota House leadership role.Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, an eight-term legislator, had been suspended from "any current and pending leadership roles" within the House Republican caucus following the incident. After Republicans won a majority in the Minnesota House last year, Hackbarth was named chair of the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.But House Speaker Kurt Zellers removed Hackbarth from the role following the incident. Hackbarth told police he was going through a divorce and had met a woman via an Internet dating service, but was suspicious that she was seeing another man and was attempting to investigate when police stopped him in St. Paul. He was not arrested.On Friday, Zellers said Hackbarth would chair an energy subcommittee to the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee.