South River Hills awarded $10,000 by the City of Burnsville! Check out our listing on the official website.

To celebrate this step forward and to update our neighbors on the grant process, we are hosting a Neighborhood Meeting at River Hills United Methodist Church (11100 River Hills Dr) on January 12 from 6:30-7:30pm.

The neighborhood has officially organized! At our March meeting, residents reviewed and approved the Articles of Incorporation for South River Hills. Eric L of Clark St was elected Chairman-Secretary and will continue to lead the neighborhood efforts. We are still searching for a Vice-Chair-Treasurer.

March 2026 Meeting Minutes

In April, residents elected Maureen S of Lewis Ct as Vice Chairman-Treasurer. A small task force was recruited for planning Night to Unite in August. The rest of the meeting was devoted to discussing plans for the upcoming River Hills Day in June.

April 2026 Meeting Minutes

Our neighborhood leaders met to continue planning for River Hills Day. The vice-chairman/treasurer attempted to use a meeting recording to draft meeting minutes, but we were unsuccessful.

Posted by the SRHNA Board

What an incredible community effort! Thanks to your participation, volunteering, and neighborhood pride, our annual River Hills Day was a fantastic success. We had incredible weather, steady traffic at our new craft sale, out-of-town visitors, and absolutely no drama. Our neighboring community, North River Hills, loved being invited, and the new inflatables were a massive hit with the kids!

To keep making this event better year after year, we gathered feedback from our leadership team, our block coordinators, and our NRH neighbors. Here is our official wrap-up of what went well, what we can improve, and our exciting roadmap for next year.

🌟 What Went Well this Year

• Great Attendance & Vibes: The weather cooperated beautifully, bringing out plenty of local and out-of-town shoppers.

• Smooth Logistics: Registration and "No Parking" signs were placed in a timely manner.

• New Additions: The Craft Sale maintained steady traffic, and our block coordinators did an amazing job with flyer distribution.

• Outreach & Engagement: Our table at the city's Party on the Plaza and our basic neighborhood merchandise helped boost community awareness and tidied up the neighborhood.

🛠️ Lessons Learned & Areas to Improve

While the event was a success, we have identified key areas to refine for our next outing:

• Signage Upgrades: Our signs felt a bit bland this year. We need to get them out earlier, introduce "A-frame" signs, and design more eye-catching, creative signage (like signs shaped like houses).

• Kid-Centric Activities: Many residents didn't know about the kids' activities. We need to promote these better and secure more volunteers to help staff them.

• Targeted Outreach: We want to boost engagement in the interior streets such as Ravoux Ave and find ways to involve more sponsors (sharing total fundraising amounts and overall participation percentages).

🚀 The Roadmap: Planning for Next Year

We aren't waiting until spring to start planning! The Board will begin organizing again this September to bring several exciting upgrades to life:

1. Advanced Marketing & Signage

• Timelines: Registration signs will go up 8 weeks prior, with a hard swap to "marketing signs" on the registration deadline day.

• Yard Signs: We will place signs in the yards of registered homes and provide map numbers early so residents can make their own custom signs if they choose.

• Better Navigation: We will place "More Sales" arrow signs at key intersections and recommend that hosts mark "You Are Here" on their maps.

• Broad Outreach: We will market to metro influencers, free activity channels, garage sale groups, city networks, and the Star Tribune garage sale section.

2. Expanded Kids' Activities & Family Fun

• We want to make this a massive family event focused on the kids, complete with fun music and potentially fireworks or drone show!

• Activities planned: Inflatables, face painting, simple games, and an appearance by a Burnsville firetruck.

• Partnerships: We will collaborate with the local PTO to host a booth with basic games and prizes (including purchasing a custom table wrap), and we are looking into extending the event's hours. We will also coordinate with high school volunteer coordinators earlier in the year to ensure we have plenty of youth helpers.

3. Food, Vendors, & Layout

• Food Truck Expansion: We plan to secure 4 food trucks (2 at Sioux Trail, 2 at Byrne) plus 1 local food stand.

• Young Entrepreneurs & Crafters: We are officially continuing the craft fair and dedicating space to young entrepreneurs in our neighborhood.

• Interactive Maps: Next year's maps will feature local vendor coupons.

• Community Booths: We will offer booths to the School District and the City of Burnsville, including a dedicated first-aid station and the Mobile Volunteer Network (MVN).

4. Traffic & Safety

• We will coordinate with the county regarding Highway 13 stoplights and look into hiring an off-duty police officer to help manage traffic control.

• We will also set up more "No Parking" signs to keep streets clear and safe.

5. Charity, Sustainability, & Cleanup

• Charity Spotlight: We will launch a "Round Up for River Hills" donation request and a designated "River Hills Bin" for collections.

• Thrift & Recycling: We will actively advertise local thrift donation options, including Prince of Peace Free Store and the River Hills United Methodist Church (RHUMC) congregation, to help residents rehome unsold items.

• Cleanup Services: We are looking into coordinating a junk removal service and distributing reusable shopping bags. We will also recruit a dedicated volunteer to walk the neighborhood during the event to help keep things tidy.

• Blood Drive: We are looking into hosting a community Blood Drive at RHUMC.

📧 Get Involved!

Do you want to join the planning committee this September, volunteer for kids' activities, or inquire about sponsorship opportunities?

Reach out to us at southriverhillsday@gmail.com or visit www.southriverhills.com to stay updated!

The Night to Unite leaders updated the Association on planning for the upcoming August event. We also began discussing the 2027 Neighborhood Grant program.