20 years ago, KY lawmaker under investigation penned ‘Sketchy Dan’ column in college

State Rep. Daniel Grossberg, who is being investigated for alleged inappropriate conduct toward women, wrote a satirical advice column in college two decades ago under the name “Sketchy Dan,” where he recommended that “lonely,” “horny” and “creepy” young men aggressively pursue women on campus, even if the women weren’t interested.

The column and its title, in Grinnell College’s school’s humor newspaper, were a play on Grossberg’s public reputation for making women uncomfortable around campus, and he doled out advice to fake letter-writers who claimed to have similar experiences.

Readers wrote in letters to the editor published in the campus newspaper that Grossberg made people uncomfortable, and they debated whether his “sketchy” reputation was fair.

In one of the letters included in a Grossberg column, a writer named “Creepy in Clark” asked: “Dear Sketchy, I think the girls in my hall are scared of me; they always think I’m hitting on them. You have some experience in this area. What do you suggest?”

Grossberg, as “Sketchy Dan,” replied: “Hold a floor meeting where you threaten to sue anyone who calls you creepy for slander, and proceed to ask each one out individually for a romantic reconciliation dinner at Rube’s Steak House, followed by an erotic foot massage.”

The column, saved in the school’s digitized archives and reviewed by the Herald-Leader, sparked a minor controversy in November 2003 at the Iowa college, where Grossberg was a sophomore.

“Due to Dan’s forward personality, many people, myself included, have at some time felt ill at ease around him. Though this is unintentional on his part, when the slightest rumor of sketchiness is added, it is not difficult to see how people’s perceptions could be altered and how the escalation of such misperceptions could, with time, lead to completely baseless accusations,” wrote a supporter, Matthew Phelps.

The column resurfaced this week after Kentucky’s Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the legislature, last week launched an investigation into texts Grossberg sent several women who work with lawmakers, commenting on their appearances.

The state probe came after the Herald-Leader reported three women received texts from Grossberg that were “creepy” or “weird” and made them feel uneasy.

In response, the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus has temporarily suspended Grossberg from its membership and called for a separate investigation by the Legislative Ethics Commission.

The 45-year-old Grossberg is married to a school teacher. He has denied any impropriety.

On Wednesday, Grossberg’s attorney, Anna Whites, again denied Grossberg had acted inappropriately. She said the lawmaker has a “neurodivergent diagnosis,” placing him on the autism spectrum, which means his brain processes information differently.

For much of his life, Whites said, Grossberg has made people uncomfortable because of behavior like sharing more personal information than others might or communicating with less restraint.

“We didn’t know what those were 10 years ago, and even today, a lot of those people who have not put in the work and time to educate themselves on autism spectrum-related behaviors are still discriminating against people because we find them weird or creepy, because they don’t act like the rest of us,” she said.

“This is not an excuse for inappropriate behavior or harassing behavior,” she said. “But what I have seen — having seen very little and just hearing rumors and reading the stories — are people having a general expression that this guy is creepy, this guy is weird, simply because he is different.”

As for Grossberg’s “Sketchy Dan” column, Whites added, “I think we all said and did things in college that we’re not always proud of.”

The campus humor publication, called The Big and Surly, ran at least one column where Grossberg gave satirical romantic advice to letters that he also wrote, according to digital archives.

In one letter, a fictitious student dubbed “Anxious in the Annex” wrote: “Dear Sketchy, I have been seeing this girl for about a week now and want to kiss her. How long should I wait?”

Grossberg replied, “A whole week and no play!?!? She’s clearly a prude. Find yourself a new one.”

He advised “Lonely in Langan” to relentlessly pursue a girl in his class, even waiting to surprise her in her dorm room.

“E-mail her and tell her you like the perfume she was wearing that day, and tell her you thought her comments in class were insightful,” Grossberg wrote.

“If you don’t hear back in an hour, write her again. Give her another hour, if you still don’t hear, try calling. If she’s not in, go to her room and wait ... with roses ... and a computer projection of what your children would look like. “

Devan Allen McGranahan was a Grinnell College junior and vice president of the Student Government Association at the time. He wrote a letter to the campus paper saying he found Grossberg’s satirical column disturbing because it tried to make light of sexual harassment allegations against Grossberg by others on campus.

“The behavior in the article is reminiscent of the patterns described to me,” McGranahan wrote two decades ago..

“I believe the article only increases the alienation between Mr. Grossberg and a concerned, rumor-addled student body,” he wrote.

“I perceive the rumors mentioned by (Grossberg), the uncomfortable situations with which he is associated, and the ‘hilarious’ material he seems to offer as reconciliation to be indicative of a threat to the security of our community.”

In an interview Wednesday, McGranhan told the Herald-Leader that around this same time, he spoke with administrators at the college’s Division of Student Affairs about complaints made against Grossberg.

“I had been contacted by so many of my female peers that I tried to see if there was anything student government could do to represent their concerns,” he said.

McGranahan, now a government scientist in Montana, said Grinnell administrators were “sympathetic and aware” of the rumored allegations, but “ultimately didn’t have what they felt they needed to pursue a formal investigation.”

A Grinnell spokesperson said Wednesday the college “can’t comment” on student-related matters, beyond confirming that an individual graduated from Grinnell.”

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