State lawmakers have proposed more regulations and transparency for assisted living and nursing homes as advocates raise red flags.  By Jessie Van Berkel The Minnesota Star Tribune APRIL 11, 2026 AT 12:00PM Workers at Larry Thompson’s assisted living facility stood by as he suffocated to death last year, his body wedged between the dining room wall and his electric wheelchair. The 13 minutes of inaction cost the 79-year-old Vietnam veteran his life. It cost Meadow Ridge Senio

Families and advocates are calling on the Minnesota Legislature to make assisted living facilities provide the services they pay for. By James Walsh The Minnesota Star Tribune MN assisted living facilities not honoring contracts, families say Richard Thomalla’s room in a memory care unit in North St. Paul costs more than $12,000 a month, his daughter Laura DeGree said. For that, she expected he would receive the compassionate, attentive and quality care promised on the facili

In Minnesota, if an elderly person dies as a result of neglect or abuse in a long-term care facility, the maximum fine is just $5,000. Meanwhile, animal cruelty can result in up to two years in prison, a $5,000–$10,000 fine, and restitution for the cost of care. This indifference to the suffering—and needless deaths—of older adults is commonplace in far too many long-term care facilities, as this research demonstrates. Elder Voice Advocates (EVA) and others successfully worke