Man swims Mississippi River

A Slovenian man who says he’s swimming for peace is attempting to become the first person to swim the full length of the Mississippi River — and he’s now off Iowa’s eastern shore. Martin Strell started his adventure July 4th at the headwaters of the Muddy Miss in Itasca, Minnesota. During a break between Clinton and Davenport, the 44-year-old marathon swimmer he’s seeing many friendly folks on the banks who come out to wave and say ‘hello’. Strell says he’s making the 66-day journey for several reasons, including the ten-year anniversary of the U-S recognizing his tiny nation of Slovenia. He’s eager to make mid-Missouri and St. Louis as there are not any locks and dams there.Strell says he’s swimming for peace, friendship and clean water. So far, he says the Mississippi is a clean river and he’s encountered no problems. In 2000, he also swam the length of the Danube River. He hasn’t yet set a new goal for himself as he wants to finish this challenge first.Doing 35 miles a day, Strell hopes to complete the 24-hundred mile swim and reach the Gulf of Mexico at the tip of Louisiana by September 7th.