Former U.S. Congressman and current U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, Billy Long, is clamoring to place one of his hometown’s biggest companies in his recently adopted country.
A stateside tour with Iceland’s Ambassador to the U.S., Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, included a stop in Long’s hometown of Springfield and a shared stage at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 22.
At the event, Long said he’s using his new role as ambassador to help establish and further business relationships between the two countries and adorned a Bass Pro pin on his suit jacket. After the speaking event, Long said he and Valsdóttir would tour Bass Pro Shop’s Springfield store and the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium.
“I’d love to see a Bass Pro there,” Long said, referring to Iceland. “…That’s what I want to do: Create synergies and energy between the two countries.”
After the event, Long told a Springfield Daily Citizen reporter that he has engaged with Bass Pro in talks about putting a store in Iceland.
“They say if you want to do anything at Bass Pro, don’t go to Johnny (Morris), go to Jeanie (Morris),” Long said of the Bass Pro founder and his wife. “So I went to Jeanie, and that’s where I started…
Bass Pro is “not in Europe; it’d be a great entry point into Europe for them and the people there.”
Bass Pro representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Long’s remarks on a store in Iceland or the ensemble’s visit to the Springfield store on Sept. 22.
Long talked up other business relationships between Iceland and the U.S. besides Bass Pro. The ambassador promoted Kerecis, an Iceland-based company breaking into the U.S. market that uses intact fish skin for tissue regeneration.
At the Public Policy Speaker Series event, Long described his newfound love for Iceland and its people, and said his new role has been to help establish relations between the two countries, making connections and slinging praise.
“I’m the top guy from the United States in Iceland,” Long said. “…When the Secretary of State comes to Iceland, I outrank them. You know, so I can do a lot of things.
“But the biggest thing I can do is be a cheerleader. Explain to people the synergies and energies between Iceland and us.”
Long said the majority of the time in his new role has been spent trying to make those connections. One such connection is with his Icelandic counterpart, Valsdóttir, who called her and Long’s relationship “quite unique.”
Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, the Ambassador for the United States in Iceland, talks about her role from journalist to government official on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)
Valsdóttir said her home country has a love for America — and American products — that dates back decades. Icelandic grocery stores stock General Mills cereals, Betty Crocker cakes and Campbell’s soup, along with many other American products. That is different from other countries in the region because of America’s relationship with Iceland dating back to pre-World War II, when shipping routes to Europe were closed. Americans seem to love Iceland as well, she said.
“The U.S. is our single largest trading partner already,” Valsdóttir said. “Every third tourist that goes to Iceland is American.”
Long’s role as Ambassador to Iceland carries no fixed term length. He serves at the discretion of the president. Meanwhile, Valsdóttir’s term will be about five years and she will be based in Washington D.C., the Iceland Ambassador said.
At the end of the event, Long said President Trump’s biggest focus is to make sure the GIUK gap — a vital choke point in the northern Atlantic Ocean between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom — is safe and protected, and that means keeping strong relationships with the countries in that region.
President Trump’s “main goal is to make sure that that part of the world is protected,” Long said. “That part of the world remains in friendly hands.”
“I think that the president is very conscious of how much we need to protect that part of the world and make sure that it’s a very important part of the world.”
