The Rivers

The Rivers, in Burnsville, is one of the larger licensed assisted living communities in Dakota County: 182 licensed resident spaces under MDH license 426304. Below is what the Minnesota Department of Health publishes about this license, and how to use that record when you visit.

Is The Rivers licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health?

Yes. The Rivers holds an MDH Assisted Living Facility with Dementia Care license, number 426304, for 182 residents; the current license period runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

The dementia care license is the category Minnesota requires for any building with a secured memory care unit, so this community may operate one.

What do MDH survey and complaint records show for The Rivers?

MDH has posted 2 evaluation surveys for The Rivers, most recently resolved on August 13, 2025, along with 0 complaint investigations by the Office of Health Facility Complaints, 0 of them substantiated.

Of the 0 investigations: 0 substantiated, 0 unsubstantiated, 0 inconclusive. The metro median for assisted living buildings licensed for 60 or more residents is 1 substantiated finding. Its posted record is at or below the metro median for substantiated complaint findings among larger buildings, a good sign, though investigations only capture what was reported. A complaint investigation starts when someone reports a concern, so the count reflects reporting as well as care.

Evaluation surveys

Office of Health Facility Complaints investigations

No Office of Health Facility Complaints investigation is posted for this license.

What does The Rivers report about staffing and payment in its state disclosure?

In its UDALSA disclosure on file with MDH, dated 05/01/2025, The Rivers reported typically scheduling these numbers of unlicensed direct-care staff: 5 on the day shift, 5 on the evening shift, 3 on the night shift.

It does not mark waivered services (Elderly Waiver, CADI or BI) as an accepted payment for services, so ask directly before assuming Medical Assistance can be used here. Shift counts are building-wide and self-reported; divide by the 182 licensed spaces only as a rough guide, and ask how many staff work inside any secured unit. Read the full UDALSA (PDF) for the service and amenity checklist.

Does The Rivers provide memory care?

The Rivers holds Minnesota's dementia care license, so before signing a contract you are entitled to its written dementia care disclosure under Minn. Stat. 325F.72.

That disclosure covers admission and retention criteria for the secured unit, the assessment and service-plan process, staff credentials and training, the physical environment and security features, programming and fees. Compare it side by side with another community's, and ask how many staff completed the dementia training required under Minn. Stat. 144G.83 this year.

Where is The Rivers, and what else is licensed nearby?

The Rivers is at 11111 River Hills Drive, Burnsville, Minnesota 55337, in Dakota County, where families are served by Trellis, the metro's Area Agency on Aging, through the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433.

Burnsville is anchored by M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital, which has served the southern suburbs since 1984, and the city has one of the more established senior-housing markets in the south metro, with communities clustered near the Burnsville Center mall and along County Road 42. Interstate 35W and 35E both pass through the city, and the METRO Red Line's southern terminus sits just over the border in Apple Valley, giving Burnsville residents bus rapid transit access north to the airport and Mall of America. Housing stock is predominantly 1970s-1990s split-levels and ramblers, common building types now marketed for one-level senior downsizing. Dakota County is served by M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, with the St. Paul hospitals a short drive north; ask how the community handles rides to specialist appointments. See our Burnsville assisted living guide.

Other licensed assisted living near Burnsville

• Regent at Burnsville · Burnsville, 170 licensed spaces, dementia care
• Havenwood of Burnsville · Burnsville, 160 licensed spaces, dementia care
• Burnsville Carefree Living by Oxford Living · Burnsville, 94 licensed spaces, dementia care
• Arbors at Ridges Assisted Living · Burnsville, 70 licensed spaces
• Emerald Crest of Burnsville · Burnsville, 70 licensed spaces, dementia care
• Valley Ridge · Burnsville, 67 licensed spaces, dementia care

What does assisted living cost at a community like The Rivers?

No primary source publishes a Twin Cities-only assisted living median, and The Rivers's rates depend on apartment type and service package; third-party summaries of the CareScout survey put Minnesota's statewide median near $6,573 a month, a figure we have not verified against CareScout's own tables.

Ask The Rivers for a written, itemized monthly quote for your parent's assessed service level, including what is billed separately. Minnesota's Elderly Waiver can pay for customized living services, never room and board, for Medical Assistance-eligible residents of participating facilities; very-low-income residents may also qualify for Housing Support toward room and board. How the Elderly Waiver works in assisted living.

How should a family evaluate The Rivers?

With 182 licensed spaces, The Rivers is large enough that staffing can vary floor to floor and shift to shift. Ask for the caregiver-to-resident ratio on the wing your parent would live in, both day and overnight, and how many aides are awake after 11 p.m.

Check the Minnesota Assisted Living Report Card, which DHS and MDH publish with resident and family survey results for many facilities, alongside the complaint record above. Visit at least twice, once unannounced near a mealtime, and ask to speak with a current resident's family.

Who do you call with a concern about care at The Rivers?

Call the MDH Office of Health Facility Complaints at 651-201-4200 (or 1-800-369-7994) for a licensing concern, or the Minnesota Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care at 1-800-657-3591 for free, confidential advocacy.

A complaint to MDH can lead to the kind of investigation listed above. The ombudsman does not inspect; it helps resolve problems such as discharge notices, service-plan disputes and residents' rights issues, and acts with the resident's consent. Suspected abuse, neglect or financial exploitation goes to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 1-844-880-1574, 24 hours a day. For immediate danger, call 911. How complaints work in Minnesota.

What should you ask on a tour of The Rivers?

Ask about overnight staffing, move-out triggers and the latest MDH findings first; those three answers separate communities faster than any brochure.

• Can we join a meal and an activity before deciding?
• How do you coordinate rides to Allina, M Health Fairview, HealthPartners or North Memorial appointments?
• Which needs would require a move out, and how much notice do you give under Chapter 144G?
• What does the base rate include, and how are service packages priced?
• Who is the family's contact after hours?
• Can I see your most recent MDH evaluation survey and any correction orders?