About 50 demonstrators staged a vigil on Tuesday outside the home of Minneapolis landlord Stephen Frenz as part of a weeklong series of protests by renters and advocates taking place locally and nationally.
Protest leaders detailed a series of problems they said they've endured as tenants, including heating problems, faulty electrical wiring and plumbing overflows.
Sprinklers were turned on in an apparent attempt to scatter protesters as they rallied on Frenz's front lawn on East Harriet Parkway in Minneapolis.
"We're not scared of water," one speaker told the crowd. "We've seen worse."
Frenz is under fire from tenants who cite poor conditions in some of his apartment complexes. He faces revocation of all his rental licenses by the city of Minneapolis over allegations he failed to report that banned landlord Spiros Zorbalas still has a major stake in his properties.
Frenz did not immediately return a reporter's phone call Tuesday.
Protesters also held another demonstration at Nexus Real Estate in Brooklyn Park to protest rent increases and evictions in Minneapolis' Whittier neighborhood.
Another demonstration is planned for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday outside St. Paul City Hall where a hearing is being held on zoning at the former site of the Ford truck plant.
