Connection research · Research date 2026-09-15
2026 FCC records identify Idaho Values First officers and political-ad activity; 2021 Sixteen Thirty legal continuity remains unresolved
Recorded status: PRIMARY upgraded for 2026 advertiser/governance and political-ad activity; current lobbying identity strongly corroborated. Exact EIN/legal continuity to the 2021 $495K grantee and 2021→2026 dollar tracing remain unproved.
This is a dated research record. Its qualifications and open questions are part of the account. Association alone does not establish wrongdoing or control.
Sixteen Thirty Fund's 2021 Schedule I reports a $495,000 grant to Idaho Values First Foundation Inc., EIN 87-2846989, PO Box 2511, Boise, for civil rights/social action/advocacy. New primary 2026 FCC political-file records materially upgrade the current Idaho Values First side of this cross-cycle question. An April 2026 non-candidate issue-ad agreement for KMVT identifies the advertiser/sponsor as Idaho Values First at PO Box 85, Boise, Idaho 83701; gives phone (208) 534-7650 and idahovaluesfirst@gmail.com; and lists the organization's chief executive officers/governing group as Rolando Ruano, Judy Ellis and Cheryl Miller. The form identifies PB Media Purchasing as the requesting agency and is signed/accepted for an April 2026 state/local issue advertising flight. Associated KMVT billing records show 71 spots for that buy, $15,920 gross and $13,532 net after agency commission. The Idaho Attorney General's April 16, 2026 official statement independently confirms that an organization calling itself Idaho Values First was running political advertisements attacking Idaho legislators based on legislative votes. Current lobbying-directory data further list Rolando Ruano at PO Box 85 with Idaho Values First Foundation, Inc. as his client, tying the same PO Box used in the FCC advertiser record to a current state-policy lobbying relationship. This now establishes PRIMARY current-advertiser/governance evidence and strong current lobbying identity evidence for the 2026 organization. However, the critical legal-continuity firewall remains: the 2021 Sixteen Thirty grantee used PO Box 2511 and EIN 87-2846989, while the 2026 FCC record uses PO Box 85 and does not state an EIN. A secondary report says the original Idaho Values First entity was founded by Merrill Beyeler, later dissolved and revived under Ruano/Miller/Ellis, but the underlying Idaho Secretary of State corporate filing has not yet been independently reproduced. Therefore exact legal/EIN continuity from the 2021 $495,000 grantee to the 2026 advertiser/lobbying operation remains unresolved. Even if continuity is confirmed, no evidence currently traces the 2021 Sixteen Thirty grant balance into 2026 advertising or lobbying expenditures.
Source references
- Sixteen Thirty Fund 2021 Form 990 — Schedule I domestic grants
- KMVT FCC issue-ad agreement — Idaho Values First — Page 1 advertiser/sponsor and governing group; page 2 signature/flight
- Idaho Attorney General — April 16, 2026 statement — Press release body
- LobbyLinx — Rolando Ruano — Client listing
- Observer News Group / Honor Idaho — Idaho Values First corporate-history report — Corporate history discussion