WADENA, MN -- Minnesotans do disaster relief well, I've often claimed, because this state has had so much practice. Support for that claim is abundantly evident on the west side of Wadena, MN, which I saw Saturday for the first time since June 2010.

There was no sign of the devastation I witnessed nearly five years ago after an EF4 tornado ripped through a placid residential section of the west-central Minnesota town of 4,200. None, that is, unless one counts the 29 vacant lots where houses once stood.

Those lots are situated in what appears to be a desirable neighborhood, save for the lack of mature trees. Plenty of small ones have been planted to replace the ones uprooted by the June 17, 2010 late afternoon storm.

Anyone who cared to build a house there would be close to a handsome new high school building (complete with storm shelter), a refurbished Minnesota West Community College campus, a new county fair grandstand, and the city's pride and joy -- Maslowski Wellness and Research Center. That $12 million facility offers top-notch pools, racquetball, basketball and exercise equipment, available at family-friendly prices -- amenities few other small towns on the prairie offer.

Former Mayor Wayne Wolden, who led the city's tornado recovery, calls the wellness center the "crown jewel" of a recovery effort that sought not only to repair what was damaged, but also to rebuild to a higher standard. In that effort, he noted, Wadena found a strong partner in the state of Minnesota; $4.5 million in state bond proceeds went into the wellness center. Regional foundations and businesses also made major contributions.

Wolden and others I met in Wadena are justifiably proud of all that's been rebuilt. But they are worried about those vacant lots -- so much so that the city, county and school district are offering 10 years of no property taxes to anyone who builds on them this year or next. So far, the tax abatement bait hasn't lured many takers.

That makes Wadena a test case of the power of tax giveaways and civic amenities to attract private investment, by both homeowners and the employers. I'll plan a return visit in a year or two and report on the test's results.