MITCHELL, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) Kyle Schoenfish (R-Scotland) is a candidate for re-election to the South Dakota Senate from District 19, which includes Bon Homme, Hanson, Hutchinson and McCook counties, as well as the southwest precinct of Turner County. Schoenfish served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2013-2019. In 2020, he was appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the vacant Senate seat, to which he has since been re-elected.
Schoenfish, a Certified Public Accountant, is employed at Schoenfish & Company, Inc., in Parkston, S.D., where he works as a Federal income tax preparer and financial statement auditor for cities and school districts.
A graduate of Scotland High School, Schoenfish participated in 4-H, FFA and FCCLA. He was sponsored by the late Representative Gary Jerke as a page to the South Dakota legislature. He received a degree in accounting from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, where he was involved in student government and was on the cross country and track teams.
Schoenfish focuses on issues relevant to South Dakota. He currently serves as a member of the Transportation Committee, Taxation Committee, Tribal Relations Committee, and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. A supporter of education, he has advocated for school funding, teacher pay and local control. In 2021, he served on the Redistricting Committee, which protected rural areas and put all of Bon Homme County in the same district after being split across legislative district lines for the last decade. Schoenfish has a record of supporting health care, housing, infrastructure, life, South Dakota’s initiative process and supporting freedom.
Schoenfish is a lifelong resident of Hutchinson County. He is a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Menno and serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Lutheran Theology Seminary College in Brookings.