Drive Highway 212 or Highway 19 through Renville County and you pass Olivia, Bird Island, Hector, Danube, Renville, Fairfax, Franklin and Morton, with farmsteads spread across the cropland in between. Many of the houses in these towns are two-story farmhouses and early-20th-century town homes, built with interior staircases that were never meant for someone with bad knees or a walker.
That is where a stair lift usually comes in. The ground out here is almost entirely flat, so the question is rarely about hills. It is about the stairway inside the house, how it turns, how wide it is, and who in the family is struggling to climb it.
The older homes in Olivia, Sacred Heart, Buffalo Lake and the other county towns often have narrow original stairways. A straight run from the first floor to the second is the simplest case. A straight stair lift rides a rail mounted to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster and old trim usually stay untouched.
If the stairway turns at a landing or winds near the top, a curved rail is built to fit that specific staircase. Split-level homes are a different puzzle, with short flights between several levels, and sometimes one lift on the most-used flight is enough. We look at which floor holds the bedroom and bathroom before recommending anything.
Renville County covers about 987 square miles, and roughly 98% of it is under cultivation. With 27 townships and ten small communities rather than one big city, the drive between a farmstead and the nearest town can be long.
That distance matters when you plan. Measuring, installing and any later service visit all mean someone driving out to the house, and county office services are based in Olivia. It helps to gather your stair measurements, photos and questions before the first visit so nothing has to wait for a second trip.
About 21.7% of county residents are 65 or older, and 74.8% own their homes. Many of those homeowners have lived in the same house for a long time and want to stay on the farm or in town rather than move.
If that describes someone in your family, read the veteran programs below closely, because not every VA benefit treats stair lifts the same way.
No program on this page names stair lifts specifically, and the VA HISA grant and the Southwestern Center for Independent Living say plainly that they do not fund them. Several others cover home modifications or accessibility features in general, which is often where a stair lift request starts.
For someone 65 or older on Medical Assistance, the Minnesota Elderly Waiver is the first call. For working-age adults with a disability, the disability waivers carry an annual $40,000 limit for environmental accessibility adaptations. Homeowners who do not qualify for Medicaid can look at the Renville County HRA/EDA rehab loan, Minnesota Housing loans, or the USDA Section 504 program for rural homeowners.
A state Medicaid waiver for people 65 or older who need a nursing-facility level of care; home modifications are a covered category, though the source does not mention stair lifts by name. Apply through Renville County Social Services or call (800) 333-2433.
For Medical Assistance eligible residents under 65 with a qualifying disability, these waivers fund home adaptations up to $40,000 a year, with an exception process up to $80,000; the source does not mention stair lifts. Call (320) 523-2202.
The designated Area Agency on Aging for Renville County, offering information and referral for older adults and caregivers; it does not list a stair lift or individual home-modification grant. Call (507) 387-1256.
A 0% interest, 5-year loan of up to $6,000 in matching funds for owner-occupants under the income limits, with accessibility features named as an eligible repair; stair lifts are not itemized. Call (507) 637-4004.
Loans up to $20,000 at 1% over 20 years for very-low-income rural homeowners, plus grants up to $7,500 per year for homeowners 62 or older who cannot repay a loan; the source does not mention stair lifts.
A VA grant for permanent structural changes such as ramps and roll-in showers, up to $6,800 or $2,000 depending on disability status; it explicitly excludes stair glides, so it does not cover stair lifts. Call Renville County Veterans Services at (320) 523-3763.
A once-per-lifetime hardship grant for Minnesota veterans or a non-remarried surviving spouse, paid directly to the vendor; the source does not mention stair lifts or home modifications. Apply through the County Veterans Service Officer at (320) 523-3763.
A nonprofit that offers free home-access assessments and builds or rents ramps; it does not cover stair lifts, and its source pages do not name Renville County in its service area. Call (507) 532-2221 to ask.
A deferred, 0% interest loan up to $37,500 for low-income homeowners, forgiven if you stay in the home for the full term, with an accessibility component for a resident with a disability; stair lifts are not named. Call (651) 296-7608.
Fixed-rate loans from $2,000 to $75,000 with accessibility improvements listed as an eligible project, and the Accessibility Loan option has no income limit; stair lifts are not itemized. Call (651) 296-7608.
Older adults
2401 Broadway Ave., Suite 4, Slayton, 56172
Veterans
105 South 5th Street, Suite 247, Olivia, 56277
Not through the HISA grant. The VA lists stair glides among the removable equipment HISA excludes. Renville County Veterans Services at 105 South 5th Street, Suite 247, Olivia, (320) 523-3763, can talk through other options such as the Minnesota Veteran's Relief Grant.
Yes, if they are Medical Assistance eligible and meet the criteria for the CADI, CAC, Brain Injury or Developmental Disabilities waivers. Those waivers fund environmental accessibility adaptations up to $40,000 a year. Call (320) 523-2202.
For 2026, a single applicant can have income of about $2,982 a month and assets up to $3,000, with a home equity limit of $752,000. The person must be 65 or older and need a nursing-facility level of care.
Owner-occupants in Renville County with income up to 115% of county median, which is about $71,300 for a single person. The loan is up to $6,000 in matching funds at 0% interest, and repayment can be deferred for very low-income households.
The Accessibility Loan option under the Minnesota Housing Fix Up Loan Program has no income limit. A minimum credit score and owner-occupancy are still required. Call (651) 296-7608.
Narrow original stairways are common in the county's older homes, and that is exactly where stair lifts are often installed. Whether a straight or curved rail is needed depends on how your staircase runs, which we confirm when we measure.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
