CARLTON — The more Abrianna Schmidt has seen of the world, the more she’s grown to appreciate her hometown of Carlton.

“I love getting to experience new places,” Schmidt said. “But whenever I was visiting them, I always saw myself really appreciating and valuing where I grew up, and kind of yearning to be back home.”

That yearning to go back home inspired Schmidt to pen the song “Small Town Girl,” which was recently announced to be the winner of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “Words & Music: Journey of a Song,” a national lyric writing contest for teens 13-18.

As the winner, Schmidt will travel to Nashville on a full scholarship in June for the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Summer Songwriting Camp, which hosts more than 10,000 aspiring songwriters ages 11-18 annually. Schmidt will be mentored by songwriters, producers and music industry professionals. The week will culminate with campers performing their songs at the Ford Theater in Nashville.

Schmidt, a senior at Carlton High School, was encouraged to apply for the competition by her father, who found an advertisement for the contest on Facebook while they were on a trip to Nashville. Schmidt had shared some of her music locally, but never on anything of this scale. She didn’t think she stood much of a chance but decided to try anyway.

“I figured I’d give it a shot and put myself out there. I’m trying to always push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to sharing art,” she said. “It’s a very vulnerable experience.”

When she returned home from Nashville, she recorded the song on her phone and submitted it to the contest. After a month of silence, she assumed nothing would come of it. Then one day while Schmidt was doing her homework, she received an email informing her that she won the contest.

“I was ecstatic,” she said. “I think that I was really honored and surprised and I texted my parents and I called my mom and I was crying tears of joy.”

Her winning song is an homage to her life growing up in Carlton. It’s about returning to your roots and appreciating the town that made you, Schmidt said.

“It’s sure been fun to travel this whole world, but deep down I’m still a small-town girl,” she sings.

She wrote the song in January after traveling to cities such as Los Angeles, Nashville, Dallas and Oklahoma City. Though she enjoyed being able to see more of the world, the experiences left her appreciating the little things about her childhood and life in northern Minnesota.

Schmidt considers herself a country and folk singer and draws influence from artists like Judy Garland, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Stapleton and Kacey Musgraves.

As a songwriter, inspiration strikes Schmidt at unexpected times. Sometimes it is a word that someone says in a conversation or an unnamed melody that starts humming in her head.

“Something that pops into my head so often, whether it’s lyrics or a melody, and I just kind of have to get it down on paper or record it,” she said.

Schmidt grew up dancing, singing and performing in musical theater. She started playing guitar when she was 9 years old and began writing songs when she was 13 as a way to offload her thoughts.

For Schmidt, writing music allows her to examine emotions that can’t readily be summarized by a single word. By exploring the workings of her mind through music, she feels she connects with others in a way she otherwise wouldn’t be able to. This is what inspires her to continue to write music.

“I think it’s such a unique way to connect with others,” she said. “And I think that’s what prompted me to song-write in the first place and what makes me continue to song-write.”

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The Minnesota House of Representatives debated, then tabled, a bill Friday that would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment barring discrimination based on someone’s race, class, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or “decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant.”

DFLers in the chamber said it was important for lawmakers to send the question to voters in 2026. If approved in both chambers, Minnesotans would decide whether to add the language to the state’s Constitution.

Republicans, meanwhile, said the amendment could abridge religious freedom and wasn’t transparent in what it would cover.

The proposal is expected to come up for a House vote later this weekend. With three voting days left in the legislative session, it’s not clear whether the measure could clear the Minnesota Senate, where it would need every Democrat’s support.

Bill author Rep. Kaohly Her, DFL-St. Paul, said the state needed more explicit protections in its constitution to prevent future lawmakers or courts from passing laws or issuing rulings that could limit Minnesotans’ rights.

“Case law and statutes are subject to political winds and the makeup of the political leanings of judges,” Her said. “Rights should not hinge on these changes.”

Republicans in the chamber brought several amendments that would exempt private entities from the provision, add protections based on someone’s age and pare back the amendment to solely bar discrimination on the basis of sex.

House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and other GOP lawmakers said the amendment could limit religious freedom and set back the rights of women and girls.

“Equality is not a political stunt. We believe in equal rights under the law. And the underlying bill does not provide that,” Demuth said. “It would be unconscionable to enshrine favoritism and inequality in the Minnesota State Constitution.”

The bill has spurred a political standoff at the Capitol over other issues, including a capital investment bill, a raft of budget touch-up bills, a proposal to legalize sports betting and a proposal to boost funding to rural emergency medical services.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said Thursday that the House would move forward with the bill, even as Republicans pledged to pull votes for a public construction project bill if the equal rights amendment moved forward.

“We will never trade infrastructure projects against Minnesotans’ civil rights,” Hortman told reporters. “We absolutely will not bargain on that.”

GOP leaders at the Capitol said publicly this week they want Democrats to drop the ERA as part of a deal to pass a capital investment bill. Republicans have leverage over the bill and related issues because their supermajority votes are needed to let the state take on debt to fund projects.

Demuth said Thursday the bonding bill was in jeopardy because Democrats weren’t meaningfully including Republicans in negotiations. She said that and efforts to cut off debate on the House floor Wednesday left GOP lawmakers frustrated.

“I would say everything is at risk right now,” Demuth told reporters. “Bonding, sports betting, Uber/Lyft (driver minimum wage), everything where Republican votes may be needed is at risk because of the action taken last night.”

Even if their votes aren’t needed to pass, Republicans could have a hand in what gets done before the end of the legislative session. They can burn down the remaining hours with floor debates and amendments.

Hortman has said she would cut off debate if it seems Republican members are drawing out debate to postpone votes.

Gov. Tim Walz said he hopes Republicans will limit drawn out debates on the floor and allow the equal rights amendment to come up for a vote.

“They’re holding up legislative work up there, because they don’t want Minnesotans to vote (on) whether women should have equal protections under the law and have reproductive freedoms,” Walz said Friday.

Walz said he does not plan to call a special legislative session and thought lawmakers could wrap up their business before 11:59 p.m. Sunday, the deadline for casting votes.

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