Mike Stevens
Mike Stevens is a Yankton attorney and co-founder of Blackburn & Stevens Law Firm who has practiced law in South Dakota since 1978. A graduate of Bethel University and the University of South Dakota School of Law, he served on the Yankton School Board for 21 years before first entering the legislature in 2013. He returned to the House in 2021 and has since served as Speaker Pro Tempore and Chair of the Education Committee.
Why they’re
Sensible
Mike Stevens brings more than a decade of legislative experience and a 21-year commitment to Yankton's public schools — a record that shows in his work, not just his words. As prime sponsor of HB 1048 (2024), he locked in a $45,000 minimum teacher salary with automatic annual increases tied to the state's own funding formula. When colleagues pushed a bill to criminalize librarians for obscene-material complaints, Stevens — who had already passed a more measured transparency bill (HB 1197) the year before — voted no, arguing that local accountability and civil remedies were the right tool. He backed the $650 million replacement penitentiary in the 2025 special session after years of delay, calling the 144-year-old facility a safety failure. His three stated priorities — youth, public education, and economic growth — flow from deep roots in Yankton and a long record of substantive, civil legislating.
Key positions
“Our youth, public education and economic growth are my three priorities, and they go hand in hand if we want to keep our children in South Dakota.”
“We want to meet the expectations of what we set out in our budget. This deals with total compensation that goes up each year that goes up based on what we are setting out as a Legislature.”
“We have a 144-year-old building and many issues with it. I'm voting for a new prison.”
“I think local control is really the way that we have to deal with it.”
Also running for
SD State House · District 18
Every other candidate filed for this seat, listed for transparency. Our Sensible slate reflects the full field — not just a single pick.