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Dakota Midday: Frontline's 'Escaping Isis'

Last August ISIS moved into the Yazidi homeland in northern Iraq, killed hundreds of Yazidi men and abducted hundreds of the minority sect’s women and children. The women who have managed to escape tell horrific accounts of brutal sexual enslavement and the rape of Yazidi girls as young as nine.

A group of Yazidi women demands international help to rescue their relatives abducted by ISIS at a protest in a camp for displaced people in Dohuk, northern Iraq.
Credit Frontline

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Tonight’s Frontline documentary, Escaping ISIS, follows efforts to rescue Yazidi women and children who've been taken captive by the extremist group. It airs on SDPB1-TV at 9 pm, CT; 8 pm, MT.

Edward Watts is the producer and director of Escaping ISIS. He spent two months in Iraq and Turkey filming the documentary and finding undercover footage. He joined Dakota Midday and discussed the making of the documentary and the plight of the Yazidis.

Karl was born to northeastern South Dakota crouton farmers, but was orphaned as a toddler during the Great Salad War (1966-67). Rescued by a flock of chickadees, he grew up in the woodlands of Sica Hollow. Legends of a bird boy living in the trees attracted the interest of renowned ornithologist and amateur bandoneon repairman Dr. Vogel Gehrke. With a handful of suet, Dr. Gehrke coaxed the timid boy down from the trees. He adopted him, named him Karl and taught him not to molt on the carpet. Dr. Gehrke’s book, The Bird Boy of Sica Hollow, was a best seller and Karl became a minor celebrity and teen idol. He appeared as a guest star on numerous television programs, most notably an awkward role on The Love Boat as the boyfriend of Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki. After critics panned his 1980 album, Bird Boy Does Disco, Karl retreated from public life and returned to Sica Hollow. Living in an isolated tree house, Karl achieved a reputation as a mystic. Pilgrims and seekers from around the world came to ask him about the meaning of life and for vinaigrette recipes. Growing tired of answering questions, he climbed down from his tree, shaved his massive white beard and took a job as the host of SDPB Radio’s Dakota Midday where he could ask the questions instead. After three years in that position, he ran out of questions and became host of Jazz Nightly instead. Karl makes his home in Vermillion with his charming wife Kari and three delightful children, Kodey, Kasey and Spatula. His hobbies include reciting the alphabet, combing his hair and doing volunteer work with delinquent songbirds.
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