I like them too.
You should be a bit careful about planting a large shrub too near the house. Don't let it rub on the siding, or up under the eaves, and don't let it be a route for unwanted critters to get on or in the roof. Also many large shrubs can root so strongly they are not good for the foundation.
Red Elderberry (a synonym for this is Sambucus racemosa) can get taller, although perhaps in your frozen north this would not occur. In the wild, I see this in thickets and I think it may get wider with time by growing suckers from the roots, although again maybe not in your area.
I think it is a general landscaping rule, to plant no closer than half the ultimate height of the shrub. Red Elderberry can ultimately get 20 feet tall, so that would be 10 feet from the house, bare minimum. But if in MN it only gets 12 feet tall, that would be a minimum of 6 feet.
