By Sara StrongThere’s already been some degree of success to the city’s marketing campaign to draw businesses to Luverne. A new Luverne Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce Web site has gotten about 150 hits, and the former Tri-State building is attracting interest."For the first time since it’s been listed, someone contacted the Realtor," Economic Development Authority Director Dan Statema said. "I expect to show it within a week."A series of ads in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader last week drew attention to Luverne, highlighting Job Opportunity Building Zones and the vacant Continental Western Group (Tri-State) building. Another ad pointed out quality of life issues such as good schools, residential lot prices and the upcoming new hospital and clinic.Together, Statema hopes the Argus Leader ads make a lasting impression on businesses to the west that thought Minnesota wasn’t a good relocation option.The Luverne City Council approved the $40,000 budget for all facets of marketing in the city, including Web site development and printing work."It may seem like $40,000 is a lot of money to spend, but all it takes is one business…" Statema said.Statema estimates that he spent $10,000 of the budget locally, and he isn’t spending the remainder of the $40,000 just yet. He’s waiting to see results from regional advertisements before spending the rest."We had a good week last week, but this is really our biggest week," Statema said.More ads are going in newspapers and other publications in Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Des Moines, Iowa; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Chicago; Kansas City, Kan. Ads will also appear in the Midwest Real Estate Journal."Then we’ll hold off on ads for a while and do more direct mailing and let people use our Web site," Statema said.The new Web site is www.luverneadvantage.com.