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Jul 1, 2008 4:14 pm US/Central
Minn. Town Offers Cash Just To Live There
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Under the housing incentive plan, a family of four who buys one of 15 city-owned lots would get cash back after their home is built. They would receive $2,000 per family member.
CBS
Welcome to Luverne, Minn., where the homes are well-kept, the schools are outstanding and the children don't even have to lock their bikes.
"Luverne is a wonderful town," said Terri Ebert. "I wouldn't live anywhere else."
At the coffee shop downtown, diners explained what they like about Luverne to CBS station WCCO-TV.
"The small-town living, security, knowing your neighbors," said Kari Remme. "You know, the whole town knows you. Whether you like it or not, they know you. They'll keep track of you."
She remembers when the town of 4,600 felt too small. It's a different story now that she's got a son.
"Now that I'm an adult, I kind of like it. I know if he ever gets in trouble, somebody will let me know about it," she said.
Luverne shares a problem with most small towns. After graduation, children want to see more of the world. They go away to school, and they don't always come back. One of those who did come back was Jill Wolf.
"After being in college and experiencing more of the city life, I decided that small towns are really a great place to live," said Wolf, now Luverne's economic development director.
Wolf has come up with a way to attract new residents to town: cash. Under the housing incentive plan, a family of four who buys one of 15 city-owned lots would get cash back after their home is built. They would receive $2,000 per family member.
"We've had five people put money down and make the decision to build a new house in Luverne just in the month-and-a-half that we've had the program available," explained Wolf.
There's more to the deal. Local merchants like Nate Golla, whose family owns the Luverne Farm Store, helped put together a package of freebies and discounts.
"It happened within a week. The e-mail went out, things came together within about five, six business days," he said.
The Chamber of Commerce incentives amount to another 60 reasons to move to Luverne. They include everything from champagne to swimming lessons to free haircuts. Chamber members say the package is worth up to $10,000.
You can't spend much time in Luverne without hearing about Sioux Falls, S.D., which has more jobs, lower taxes and cheaper groceries.
"People say Sioux Falls is somewhat of a detriment to us, and I've always seen it as more as a benefit," said Golla, who after college spent a few years in Denver before coming back. "You can drive 20, 30 minutes from anywhere in that city to entertainment anyways, so what's the difference between of this 30 minutes versus that 30 minutes? This one's got a lot less traffic, I know that."
Another selling point for Luverne is the cost of construction, which is less expensive than in Sioux Falls.
"People build houses there for $500,000, and you can get the same thing here for $200,000," said Remme.
So while potential residents might come to Luverne for the cash, they may stay for the unique, small town way of life.
