Tennessee Proposes Renaming Nashville Airport in Honor of Dolly Parton

Tennessee officials announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport after the late singer Dolly Parton, who died earlier this week at age 80. The proposal will be considered at an airport authority meeting on September 17. A petition supporting the rename has gathered over 160,000 signatures.

The renaming proposal follows Parton's death on Tuesday after a brief illness, with officials framing the change as a tribute to her decades of cultural and charitable contributions. Governor Bill Lee consulted with Parton's representatives, who reportedly welcomed the gesture. The airport authority will vote on the matter at its September 17 session.

A grassroots petition advocating for the airport's renaming, launched over a year before Parton's passing, has collected more than 160,000 signatures. The effort has drawn backing from local elected officials, including a Nashville council member and a state representative. Parton, raised in rural East Tennessee, built a legacy spanning music, business, and philanthropy through programs like the Imagination Library.