Don't fear the Rieper.

Local creative writing student, Alyssa Rieper, recently took the cake in the “Express Your Talent” online competition held by the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. Rieper, part of the late folk trio Feathe, entered a video of herself playing a song she wrote called Jon’s Song and took home a first place prize of $1,000. Even without formal training, Rieper has shown a love of music from an early age, and has run with it. She discovered the contest after recording with Zach Hanson (Gentle Guest and Laarks), who is a student at McNally Smith. She entered the contest hoping only to place second, and win the prize for her church, from which she first gained a passion for music.