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Minneapolis writer Gretchen Anthony's latest, 'Tired Ladies Take a Stand,' is about four longtime friends

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Minneapolis writer Gretchen Anthony's latest, 'Tired Ladies Take a Stand,' is about four longtime friends


Gretchen Anthony’s new novel, “Tired Ladies Take a Stand,” is a warm affirmation of female friendship. The story is not entirely satisfying, but it’s laced with wisdom and humor and will almost certainly be snapped up by book clubs everywhere.

The plot follows four women in their late 40s or early 50s who have been friends for ages and who all arenow overextended in life.

Set in the Bay Area of California (sorry, Minnesotans — Anthony lives in Minneapolis but she set this one on the coast) the book is about betrayal, secrets and neuroses, but mostly it is about the importance of enduring friendship. These four women have been besties since their 20s, when their mantra was “say yes to everything.”

They had some wild and hilarious times back then, but now they are tired, have too much to do and are trying to figure out when it is OK to say no. The characters and the storyline are deliberately exaggerated, which helps emphasize the message. The women frequently leap to support each other with all-nighters, fueled by wine and chips and followed by ugly crying. There’s little subtlety or grit in this book, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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All four women have intense, larger-than-life personalities and their men (those who have men) are minor characters, mostly forgettable.

Andi is a human rights lawyer who jets around the world helping abused and exploited people, while her teenage son at home starts failing his classes.

Emma, a teacher, is recently divorced and is trying to plan her daughter’s wedding in the face of a multitude of obstacles — including her ex-husband’s pregnant girlfriend and an ex-fiance who is both stalking her and running for Congress.

Carolina is a big-shot executive and compulsive runner who is working 100-hour weeks, trying to keep her department going in the wake of layoffs.

And Fern might be closest to readers’ hearts — she’s a writer, and the memoir she published years ago, about the four friends in their 20s, has been rediscovered and is being optioned for a movie. The other three women are deeply opposed to having their bawdy former lives splashed across the silver screen; after Fern signs the contract, she has to figure out how to let them know that the project is going forward.

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You can be forgiven if you get a little confused at the beginning — the book opens with an excerpt from Fern’s memoir of their twentysomething selves, but with no context to explain it. Memoir excerpts punctuate the narrative throughout the book, which is told from the point of view of all four women.

Two tsunami-like plotlines threaten to swamp everything. A few pages from the end, they’re still not resolved and you might start wondering how Anthony is going to tie up those loose ends. The answer might not satisfy you.

But maybe that doesn’t matter. “Tired Ladies Take a Stand” reminds us that as we move through life, despite marriages, children and careers, some of our most important relationships are with our friends.

Laurie Hertzel is a book critic in Minnesota. She’s at lauriehertzel@gmail.com.

Tired Ladies Take a Stand

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By: Gretchen Anthony.

Publisher: Park Row Books, 336 pages, $18.99.

Event: Conversation with Kathleen West, 7 p.m. May 14, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Av., Mpls. Free; registration required.



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Minneapolis, MN

Bicycle baby delivery: MN lawmaker rides e-bike sidecar to motherhood

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Bicycle baby delivery: MN lawmaker rides e-bike sidecar to motherhood


Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby.  (Supplied)

A Minneapolis lawmaker is a new mother this week after taking an unusual ride to deliver the baby.

Minneapolis bicycle baby delivery

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Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby.  (Supplied)

Big picture view:

Representative Katie Jones is a Minneapolis Democrat, and she usually takes the light rail or a bicycle to the Minnesota State Capitol because she doesn’t own a car.

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So when it was time to give birth, she and her husband loaded themselves into a friend’s cargo e-bike, with Jones riding in the sidecar.

They had also packed an infant car seat, so after their son, Hans, was born, they packed him into the bike as well for the ride home.

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Jones thanked the city of Minneapolis for having protected bike lanes that she says made the two-mile ride feel safe.

Photo shows representative Jones riding in an E-bike sidecar to deliver her baby.  (Supplied)

The Source: This story uses information gathered by FOX 9 reporter Corin Hoggard. 

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Minneapolis mosque recognizes ICE observers for helping its community

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Minneapolis mosque recognizes ICE observers for helping its community


On Friday, Laura Kubick once again came to the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. She’s not Muslim, but coming to the mosque on Fridays had become routine, one that earned the gratitude of Imam Sharif Mohamed. 

“What we wanted to do was create a sense of safety and take care of our neighbors,” Kubick said. 

Kubick said that each week, during Friday prayer, she and a friend would keep watch outside the mosque. She’d become one of tens of thousands of people operating as observers, aiming to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and provide a warning to neighbors when agents showed up. 

It’s why Mohamed and other community leaders organized Friday’s Iftar around observers, aiming to provide food and thanks to people who were total strangers before Operation Metro Surge began. Mohamed said he met people who were helping deliver meals to people too afraid to leave their homes, helping get children to school and helping to keep the neighborhood safe. 

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“The magnitude of the people who said ‘no, this is not happening on our own watch and in our neighborhood’ was beyond the expectation,” Mohamed said. 

The mosque was packed on Friday with people of all faiths, eagerly awaiting the meal that would break the daily fast observed during Ramadan. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen were in attendance and gave remarks. 

“I think everybody did all they could and Minneapolis as a whole showed up in a beautiful way,” Frey said. 

Kubick said she now lives in St. Paul; until this year, she said she hadn’t had much reason to visit Cedar-Riverside since her time in college. When she signed up to help with the Immigrant Defense Network, she noticed that no one had signed up to cover the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. She said she was happy to be there for them. 

“We showed the love for our community and we showed community solidarity,” Kubick said. 

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While the overwhelming majority of Somalis living in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, they reported that ICE targeted them heavily at the beginning of the federal surge into the Twin Cities metro. President Trump first put a spotlight on Somalis in November, blaming the community for individual fraud charges. 

Mohamed said that there are still community members afraid to go about their daily lives. A teacher and observer who spoke Friday evening said students are suffering from learning loss. In some neighborhoods, there are outstanding concerns related to paying rent following the surge. 

Jacobsen said from his standpoint with the state, the observer network represented resilience. He said that from his understanding in recent conversations with federal officials, the bulk of agents now in the state are focused on fraud. He said that he has not been informed what those investigations will actually look like. 



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Minneapolis OnlyFans users spent $14.3M, more than any other Midwest city in 2025

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Minneapolis OnlyFans users spent .3M, more than any other Midwest city in 2025


The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a mobile phone with the company branding icon visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on November 24, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Minneapolis OnlyFans subscribers have helped the city secure a top spot for content consumption on the site, ranking it in fifth place in the entire country for per-capita spending.

The city’s per-capita spending intensity is a whopping 4.4x higher than the national average.

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READ MORE: Minneapolis PD officer outed as OnlyFans model after pulling over subscriber

Minneapolis among top 5 OnlyFans spenders per capita in the country

By the numbers:

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Minneapolis residents spent a combined total of $14.3 million in 2025, or $337,248 per 10,000 residents, earning the city a spot in 5th place nationally.

According to the data, Minneapolis residents spent about $39,000 a day on OnlyFans, more than any other city in the Midwest. 

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St. Paul, meanwhile, saw its residents spend about $6.5 million in 2025, or about $209,589 per 10,000 residents, ranking in 17th place nationally.

All of Minnesota spent a total of $47.9 million, ranking it 17th out of all 50 states. 

Minneapolis content creators’ contributions

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The Bold North:

According to the data, Minneapolis is just consuming OnlyFans content, it’s also producing its own.

The city is also home to 4,705 creators, who earned more than $6.1 million in revenue, contributing about $1.4 million in combined federal and state taxes. 

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Dig deeper:

More data can be found here. 

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The Source: This story uses information gathered by OnlyGuider. 

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