Iowa Office of Civil Rights:

I am writing regarding the verified civil-rights complaint that I previously submitted to the Iowa Office of Civil Rights on 31 JUL 2026 against the City of Marshalltown, IA.

As of the date of this correspondence, I have received no official response from the Iowa Office of Civil Rights establishing that the complaint has been formally processed. This procedural posture appears consistent with a broader historical pattern observed in related administrative matters, in which the following Iowa governmental entities or institutions have produced evidence of noncompliance with applicable provisions of the Iowa Code, administrative rules, or rules governing judicial procedure:

Iowa Judicial Branch

Iowa Public Information Board

Specifically, I have received no assigned complaint or case number, no formal notice identifying the procedural status of the matter, no substantive determination, and no instructions concerning what further action, if any, is required of me as the complainant.

Accordingly, I request that the Iowa Office of Civil Rights provide written confirmation of the following:

1. Whether my verified complaint has been formally accepted and filed;
2. The date upon which the Office considers the complaint to have been filed;
3. The complaint or case number assigned to the matter;
4. Whether the respondent has been served with a true copy of the complaint;
5. The date and method of any such service;
6. The present procedural status of the complaint;
7. Whether any determination, screening decision, administrative closure, rejection, deferral, or other action has occurred; and
8. Any further administrative procedure or remedy that the Office contends remains available to me.

STATUTORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOLLOWING RECEIPT OF A COMPLAINT

Iowa Code § 216.15(3)(a) presently provides that, following the filing of a verified complaint, “a true copy shall be served within twenty days on the person against whom the complaint is filed,” subject to the service provisions contained in § 216.15(4).

The Iowa Office of Civil Rights’ own administrative rules further establish the sequence of required administrative action. 161 Iowa Administrative Code rule 3.3(216) provides that, upon receipt of a submitted complaint form, the executive director or designee shall review the form to determine whether the agency has jurisdiction.

Following establishment of jurisdiction, 161 Iowa Administrative Code rule 3.5(216) provides that the agency will serve a copy of the complaint upon the respondent within twenty days by mail or electronic mail.

Section 216.15(4) does not eliminate this initial twenty-day requirement. Rather, it authorizes service by regular or electronic mail and establishes an additional requirement that, when a respondent fails to respond to such service within ninety days, the agency shall thereafter serve the complaint by certified mail within twenty days following expiration of that ninety-day period.

As of the date of this correspondence, I have received no official case number, jurisdictional determination, acknowledgment identifying the procedural status of my complaint, notice that the respondent has been served, or instructions regarding further proceedings.

I therefore request that the Iowa Office of Civil Rights identify what action has been taken pursuant to Iowa Code § 216.15 and 161 Iowa Administrative Code rules 3.3 and 3.5, including the date upon which jurisdictional review occurred, the resulting determination, the date upon which the Office considers jurisdiction to have been established, and the date and method by which the complaint was served upon the respondent.

NOTICE REGARDING AGENCY INACTION UNDER IOWA CODE CHAPTER 17A

I intend to seek judicial review pursuant to Iowa Code § 17A.19 concerning the evidence supporting the State’s failure to act and failure to perform any applicable statutory or administrative duties.  This filing will occur on 26 AUG 2026 at approximately 1300.

Iowa Code § 17A.2(2) expressly defines “agency action” broadly to include not merely affirmative orders, decisions, investigations, sanctions, or relief, but also a failure to act, failure to exercise agency discretion, and failure to perform an agency duty.

The Iowa Supreme Court has expressly recognized this principle.

In Lewis Central Education Association v. Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, 625 N.W.2d 687, 692 (Iowa 2001), the Iowa Supreme Court explained that the statutory definition of agency action encompasses essentially everything an agency does or does not do, whether the conduct or inaction is discretionary or otherwise. The Court ultimately held that the agency’s refusal to act was judicially reviewable.

This principle is especially significant here because it is not merely a construction of Chapter 17A that I am presently advancing.

The State of Iowa has already advanced substantially the same position against me in prior litigation.

In Michael J. Merritt v. Iowa Public Information Board, Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Case No. CVCI013023, the Iowa Public Information Board, represented by the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa, filed a Motion to Dismiss on April 21, 2026.

In that filing, the State expressly relied upon Iowa Code § 17A.2(2) and Lewis Central Education Association v. Iowa Board of Educational Examiners in arguing that agency action subject to judicial review includes not only affirmative conduct but also a failure to act and the failure to perform an agency duty.

More importantly, the State specifically characterized my allegations against the Iowa Public Information Board as involving:

“the action, or rather inaction of IPIB”

including the Board’s alleged failure to accept, investigate, or otherwise resolve administrative complaints.

The State then argued that such inaction constituted agency action for which Iowa Code Chapter 17A provides the judicial remedy.

Accordingly, the State of Iowa has previously taken the legal position in litigation involving me personally that evidence demonstrating an administrative agency’s failure to accept, investigate, process, resolve, or otherwise act upon a complaint does not amount to an absence of agency action for purposes of Chapter 17A.

The evidence of inaction is itself evidence of the ‘agency action’ being challenged within the meaning of Iowa Code § 17A.2(2).

Stated differently, the State cannot transform the absence of an affirmative written decision into the absence of a reviewable governmental act when Iowa Code § 17A.2(2), Iowa Supreme Court precedent, and the State’s own prior litigation position expressly recognize that a failure to act or perform an agency duty falls within the statutory definition of agency action.

I therefore do not consider the absence of an official case number, acknowledgment, determination, or other affirmative response from the Iowa Office of Civil Rights to necessarily mean that no reviewable agency action has occurred.

To the contrary, if the evidence establishes that the Office received a complaint invoking statutory responsibilities and thereafter failed to perform duties imposed by law, that alleged failure itself may constitute the agency action subject to judicial review under Chapter 17A.

OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY ANY REMAINING ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY

Before seeking judicial intervention, I am expressly requesting that the Iowa Office of Civil Rights identify any administrative remedy that it contends I must exhaust.

If an administrative remedy remains available, please provide:

• the identity of that remedy;
• the applicable statute, administrative rule, or other authority;
• the procedure required to invoke it;
• any applicable deadline; and
• the person or office to whom the request must be directed.

If the Office contends that no additional administrative remedy exists, please state that position in writing.

If the Office does not respond or otherwise take action sufficient to clarify the procedural status of this matter, I intend to proceed based upon the administrative record and evidence then available and seek appropriate judicial review pursuant to Iowa Code § 17A.19, including review of any failure to act or failure to perform an agency duty that has prejudiced my substantial rights.

PRESERVATION OF RECORDS

Please preserve all records relating to the receipt, intake, review, processing, assignment, service, investigation, routing, disposition, or non-disposition of my complaint, including:

• intake records;
• database entries;
• case-management records;
• internal correspondence;
• email communications;
• electronic audit records;
• assignment records;
• supervisory communications;
• notes;
• service records;
• timestamps;
• metadata; and
• records reflecting any decision to act, delay action, decline action, or take no action.

This correspondence is intended to establish a clear administrative record concerning both my request for agency action and the Office’s response or continued failure to respond.

I respectfully request an official written response identifying the status of my complaint, its assigned case number, and the Office’s intended course of action. Any corrective action undertaken by the Iowa Office of Civil Rights following transmission of this correspondence will be documented and evaluated as part of the administrative record. Nothing in this correspondence waives my intention to seek judicial review pursuant to Iowa Code § 17A.19 concerning any reviewable agency action or inaction, including any failure to perform duties imposed by law, consistent with Lewis Central Education Association v. Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, 625 N.W.2d 687, 692 (Iowa 2001).

The Form of the Big Shipin’ Court Filing Preview:

Bullyin’ me since school like a tool,
Now a fool,
lookin’ for a porcelain pool,
Before you drop your stool.
Tellin’ people I’m cruel, 
Cuz I’m slayin’ court rules
against these tax-funded mules. 

The popo runs a good talk,
hauntin’ my block,
poseurs with mil surplus stock.
Check the court doc, 
Got’em down on their knees on Flock. 

Reynolds Wrap’s discrimination trap, 
and Marshalltown’s crap,
Spread like a tax-funded clap
During this state’s Chapter 216 nap.
Living water will conquer snake oil sap,
as my court docs shine like a tin foil rap. 

Even without college degrees 
I still have West D talkin’ on these.
These excessive fees, .gov please,
I was built on these seas.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=QbGWKwoO7Yo&si=3dqt2sFkTrllsaDg

Respectfully,

Michael J. Merritt, USN (Ret.)
Founder:  Pyre Harbor
Writer/Musician
Information Systems Manager/Engineer
Information Warfare Specialist – OSINT
2510 S 6TH ST D24
Marshalltown, IA 50158
cipher.hunter@pyreharbor.net
Matrix
pyreharbor.net
jzordpdtksrv35jkfde5oqatv6j5oq4jztmxwndbp4g6kitdixaf6lyd.onion

“The study of ethics is a pursuit of understanding the philosophical nature of right and wrong in its most perfect form. A society’s justice system is an ever-evolving pursuit of that perfection. Corruption is the cultural, political, or personal bias that overrules and interferes with that system.”  Perfection, Flaws, and Corruption

Legal Disclaimer:  Pyre Harbor (2026-00000784), Cipher Hunter (2026-00000785), Pyrebird (2026-00000787), Pyrewolf (2026-00000786), and Mirebird (2026-00000783) are registered trade names in Marshall County, IA.