When the leaders of this small Iowa city became desperate to land a new department store, they didn't have to look far: They lured one from the city next door, along with up to 100 jobs.

The store called Von Maur agreed to leave Iowa City for a platter of incentives offered by Coralville, which promised to put up a bigger, $9.5 million building, to provide a $1.5 million parcel of land and to discount the store's property tax bill. It even offered $650,000 to cover any penalties related to the store's departure.