Reaction to President Trump's war on opioids is mixed in the Corridor as those on the front lines consider his demands on prevention and punishment. Police and health professionals say the numbers are simply staggering. It's estimated 70,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid drug overdoses last year and 27 of those were in Linn County. Former U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau was a major force in opioid awareness and prosecution and even now, as an attorney with Scheldrup Blades, he continues to do presentations in Iowa and advocate for better policies. He says the president gets high marks for drawing attention to opioids as a national health crisis and for pushing for prevention with monitoring programs. But Mr. Techau says when it comes to punishment, Mr. Trump's plan to save lives by sentencing drug dealers to death is pointless: "That's where he took his eye off the ball, the talk about the death penalty is really a non-starter. There's no evidence that raising the punishment to a death penalty is going to address the problem." Right now the effort to pass a prescription monitoring bill in the Iowa Legislature is moving forward. It has passed the Iowa House and is now up for consideration in the Iowa Senate. Supporters say it would cut down on those who become addicted to opioids by making sure they aren't visiting multiple doctors for prescriptions.

For inmates, being a part of the Oakdale Prison Community Choir makes them feel like they are more than just their past. "This is not just a choir. This is my family," said David Frazier, who has been a member of the prison choir since 2011. "There's always room for growth. No matter what you've done, you can be forgiven." Through song, these practices become a healing process for choral members who are incarcerated, and it is a chance to be a part of a community among volunteers from outside the prison walls. "Choral singing involves text. It's embodied, we're all singing together," said Mary Cohen. Ms. Cohen is the founder and director of the prison choir, which has been around since 2009. On Tuesday, roughly 70 prison inmates and local volunteers that make up the prison choir rehearsed for an opera performance they will soon lend their voice to. This choir is one of six prison choirs in the Midwest to be featured in a New York production of Beethoven's "Fidelio." It is a story about a wrongfully incarcerated black man and his wife's mission to save him. Read the rest of the story here.