Opinion | Conversion therapy ruling threatens Wisconsin’s ban Now that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the discredited conversion therapy practice, Wisconsin must act to protect LGBTQ+ kids.

The Supreme Court's decision on Chiles v. Salazar is a threat to all states, cities and municipalities with conversion therapy bans. Already, Wisconsin has been put on notice by conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty to overturn its administrative rule.
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Editorial | UW ban on trans care is hurting kids Editorial: The fear of potential federal funding cutbacks is no excuse for inflicting pain and suffering on vulnerable children who were in the midst of treatment.

My first editorial for the Cap Times: UW Health must resume caring for its pediatric trans patients. captimes.com/opinion/edit...

Opinion | We have to talk about grooming As the Cap Times covers sexual misconduct in its Dismissed series, the editorial board will track how lawmakers and candidates pledge to protect children.

In my second column for The Capital Times, I write about something that has weighed on me since I was a teenager. We must solidify solutions to respond to the insidiousness of grooming in Wisconsin. Nervous to share this one.
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Opinion | A long, tangled journey to the opinion desk Natalie Eilbert: Sometimes objectively reporting on the hardships and injustices of ordinary people isn't enough; you have to take up their cause.

It's been a minute since I posted here. I've moved on from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I'm now serving as the opinion editor for The Cap Times. Happy to be here! Here's my first column.

New opinion editor will better connect us with an evolving Madison Paul Fanlund: Natalie Eilbert, who joins the Cap Times from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, will delve deep, listen closely, and elevate different voices.

Pleased to announce my new role as the Opinion Editor for The Capital Times!
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Why were mental health and addiction grants canceled and then reinstated? U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has demanded the Trump administration answer and take responsibility. My latest:
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A teenage boy with dark hair and a black and gold football jersey holds his helmet, standing on the side line of a green football field

I’m one of the ProPublica reporters who has been documenting the aggressive tactics federal agents are using against immigrants & U.S. citizens

All eyes are on Minnesota right now, but I want to tell you about Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-YO citizen in Houston who was choked by immigration agents in October

Over a 24-hour period, the Trump administration thrust public health systems across the country into chaos, abruptly canceling $2 billion in mental health and addiction grants. Then, overnight, it reversed course without explanation.
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Breaking: Children's and UW Health, Wisconsin's two largest pediatric hospitals, halt youth gender-affirming care at clinics less than a month after Kennedy unveiled new rules to restrict hospitals from providing gender-affirming care to youth patients.

I'm working on a story about this right now based on a tip last night. Feel free to email me at neilbert [at] gannett [dot] com.

For the last few weeks, teacher Susan Cramer has been singing "La Mariposa" with the babies and toddlers in her music class. It's Spanish for "The Butterfly," and was Dailin Pacheco-Acosta's favorite song. It's become a song of hope for Pacheco's safe return after ICE detained her and her husband.

BREAKING: Wisconsin secures one year of funding for its deafblind youth program after Trump administration abruptly cut the five-year grant and denied DPI's appeal challenging the decision.

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Hello! I'm writing about Wisconsin K-12 school policies and whether there are adequate protections for LGBTQ+ students when it comes to bullying, harassment, discrimination. I'm looking to talk with former students and families about their experiences in WI K-12 schools: neilbert@gannett.com

A group of troubled Milwaukee-area nursing homes will soon have new operators after financial strains and hundreds of resident complaints sent the facilities into receivership. Read the latest from my colleague @natalieeilbert.bsky.social and I with the link below. www.jsonline.com/story/news/h...

A 1,000-year flood, historically bad air quality, extreme heat: Nothing about summer in Wisconsin has been normal.

Four Wisconsin nursing homes put into receivership, have racked up 384 violations The state will appoint a receiver to take over four nursing homes in Wisconsin operated by Bedrock Healthcare due to financial strains.

Four Wisconsin nursing homes with a litany of health care quality concerns have been put in court-ordered receivership as of July 31, the result of dire financial strains. Here's what me and @tamiafowlkes.bsky.social learned in our investigation.

Social media makes it harder to know who children meet online. How can you break through? Among those who become radicalized in Wisconsin, about a quarter are exposed by the time they're 22.

And then, there are so many ways to intervene if you suspect your child is starting to become ensnared by dubious online figures. Here are some tips to talking to your kids on a regular basis about their time online.

Revenge is the top reason for active shooter incidents in the U.S. Can we break the cycle? In an exclusive interview with author James Kimmel, the Journal Sentinel asks about the brain science of revenge and forgiveness.

Additionally, I found my conversation with Dr. James Kimmel on the science of revenge to be endlessly fascinating. I decided to include a condensed version of our conversation as a sidebar to the larger story.

How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter: The rise of online communities bound by hate Before long, vulnerable youths are in areas of the internet that would never show up in a typical Google search. And no one is around to stop them.

Here is the main story that I spent a couple months working on: How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter?

How does a 15-year-old become a school shooter: The rise of online communities bound by hate Before long, vulnerable youths are in areas of the internet that would never show up in a typical Google search. And no one is around to stop them.

This is the first story in what will be an ongoing series on the topic of youths becoming radicalized to kill. I hope you'll give it a read.

I started looking into records, then found disturbing websites associated with mass shooters, started acquainting myself to far-right extremist verbiage like the term "saint."

Amid all the horrors coming out of Madison after the Abundant Life shooting, I kept thinking about how someone as young as 14 plans a mass shooting and why. 1/3

Kaul joins multistate suit claiming Trump has sought to deter care of transgender youths The multistate lawsuit is asking the court to block the administration's actions, which it deems unconstitutional.

Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul has joined a multistate state lawsuit suing the Trump administration over order that attack the health care rights of transgender people. My latest:

I haven't been here for a minute. To reintroduce myself, I'm Natalie, and I cover mental health for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I'm also going to start covering third spaces in WI as we reckon with isolation & greater need for community. I hope you're give me a follow! #wisconsin #mentalhealth

Trump order on unsheltered people strikes Wisconsin housing advocates as backward step Since the Housing First program began in August 2015, Milwaukee County has seen a nearly 42% decline in the homeless population.

Also this week, I wrote about Trump's latest order that would forcibly hospitalize people experiencing homelessness. The order also diverts funds away from the Housing First approach, a philosophy that says if you give someone housing first, they can then focus on treating behavioral health issues.

Are we ready for the health problems that come with extreme heat changes? In a word, no. Heat can affect people with mental illness, and create new problems as well, even affecting moods and emotions.

With much of the US on the brink of tripling its days of extreme heat and quadrupling its nights due to climate change and what one climate scientist called a "lack of political will," a new report shows the world isn't ready for the mental health toll of extreme heat. My latest. 3/3

Extreme heat, of course, is part of the problem, not only for the wildfires but for the loss of wonder, adventure and well-being. Beyond causing these enormous fires, extreme heat by itself also harms our mental health. 2/3

Throughout the week, I had wanted to go for a run. Work has been stressful and my anxiety is through the roof. Running is a balm for me. Wildfire smoke, however, has made that too big of a hazard. Yes, I went for walks, but they were eery, and that eeriness only added more worries to my day. 1/3

Milwaukee LGBTQ+ group joins national suit against Trump effort to ban DEI, erase trans people Trump's orders terminate equity-based grants, prohibit federal funding for DEI programs, and eliminate recognition of transgender people.

BREAKING: FORGE, a Milwaukee-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit, was among the plaintiffs in a second Lambda Legal lawsuit filed this week against the Trump administration. The lawsuit was announced over Zoom Thursday evening.
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