Connection research · Research date 2026-09-17
KREM forms link K. Black/CSE to three specific Defend orders and receipt of ad material
Recorded status: Purchaser-form and order linkage verified; Redbird production attribution unproven
This is a dated research record. Its qualifications and open questions are part of the account. Association alone does not establish wrongdoing or control.
KREM's two NAB issue-ad forms identify agency Commercial Space Experts (CSE), contact K. Black, advertiser Defend and Protect Idaho, sponsor contact Gary Raney, and governing officers Gary Raney (Chair) and Judith Ellis (Treasurer). The May 8 station-signed form explicitly covers contracts 3277030 and 3277092, estimates 4265 and 4267, and checks Yes for ad submitted, with date received May 8, 2026. The May 14 station-signed form covers contract 3279153, estimate 4274, also records the ad received May 8. Both are marked Accepted. Kristine Werfelmann signs as STATION representative, not PAC official, buyer, or Redbird principal. K. Black appears in the advertiser/sponsor signature-name field; the abbreviated name alone does not establish that person is Kristin Hulsen. The forms mark the advertising as not concerning a political matter of national importance and national/federal candidate fields N/A. Their absence does not establish unlawful nondisclosure. The matched KREM contracts name Commercial Space Experts / POL, account executive Rachelle Ray and TEGNA Sales Philadelphia (station-sales roles). Contracts 3277030/4265 and 3277092/4267 are dated May 8, for $1,260/$840 gross and $1,071/$714 net. Contract 3279153/4274 is dated May 14, for $3,640/$3,094. These identifiers exactly match the three invoices with creative CPMDAPI26005H. Two form signatures do not mean two different creative works; the invoices all carry the same identifier. These records establish a documented CSE-to-station purchase path for Defend, not a Redbird-to-CSE pass-through or Cothren identity bridge. Source PDFs contain no original creative video, production invoice or creative-approval correspondence.
Source references
- KREM NAB Defend Protect Idaho, May 8 — Pages 1–2; contract numbers 3277030 and 3277092; estimates 4265/4267
- KREM NAB Defend Protect Idaho 4274, May 14 — Pages 1–2; contract 3279153 / estimate 4274
- KREM Defend contract folder — 3277030--1 page 1; 3277092--1 page 1; 3279153--1 pages 1–2