On May 6, 1971, 8-year-old Valerie Peterson was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding her bicycle in front of the Manson Augustana Lutheran Church.

My sister Valerie Peterson was killed 40 years ago today.

It is still my hope that a task force pulled from Iowa law enforcement, legislators and community groups will be formed in Iowa, as it has been done in other states, to examine and put forth best practices in Iowa for the prioritization of cold cases, evidence extraction and bulk evidence in cold cases and improving relations between families of victims of cold cases and law enforcement.