M.W. Torkelson, director of regional planning for the Wisconsin State Planning Board, was the first Wisconsin representative to the international committee. In 1961 the state committee became statutory by Chapter 482, Laws of 1961; in 1967 it was renamed a commission. Membership was changed again by Chapter 39, Laws of 1975. At this time the Wisconsin commission was composed of a secretary appointed by the Governor (generally an employee of the Department of Transportation) and ten members appointed by the county boards of the eight Wisconsin counties bordering the Mississippi River.
