Coverage spread: 4 sources — 1 left · 1 center · 2 right
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Gov. Bill Lee formally proposed renaming Nashville International Airport for Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 26 at age 80 after a brief cancer battle.
- Lee’s office says he already discussed the idea with Parton’s representatives, who are open to further talks.
- A Change.org petition supporting the rename has drawn well over 150,000 signatures, with a surge after her death.
- The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority will take up the proposal, including its current rule requiring honorees to have been deceased at least two years.
Where they differ
- CBS News gives the most procedural detail, noting the airport authority’s two-year posthumous naming rule and the Sept. 17 meeting date, plus comparisons to other performer-named U.S. airports.
- Fox News emphasizes the grassroots petition’s origin story (launched by Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion in January 2025) and ties the story to Trump ordering flags lowered nationwide.
- The New York Post/Page Six focuses on personal and funeral details — the family gathering at her burial site, the funeral home’s obituary, and plans to bury her beside husband Carl Dean — rather than the airport proposal.
- CBS News is alone in noting singer Sheryl Crow’s public support and the additional “9 to 5 Day” legislation from state Sen. Jessie Seal.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee proposed Friday to rename Nashville International Airport in honor of Dolly Parton, days after the country music icon died of cancer at age 80. Lee said he has already spoken with Parton’s representatives about the idea, and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority is set to discuss the proposal at its meeting on Sept. 17.
What exactly did Gov. Lee propose?
Lee announced the plan jointly with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, saying he had spoken with Parton’s team this week and that they were open to continuing the conversation. In his statement, Lee said “Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” and called it fitting that the airport that welcomes visitors to Tennessee would carry the name of “our state’s favorite daughter.” The proposal isn’t finalized: the airport authority still needs to take it up, and it may have to revisit its own naming policy, which currently only allows facilities to be named after people who have been dead for at least two years — a rule Parton, who died Aug. 26, doesn’t yet meet.
How much public support is behind this?
A Change.org petition calling for the airport to be renamed “Dolly Parton International Airport” had drawn more than 155,000 verified signatures as of Friday, with CBS News putting the more recent count above 157,000. The petition was actually started back in January 2025 by Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion, who cited Parton’s philanthropy — including her Imagination Library literacy program — as much as her music career. After her death, organizers say tens of thousands of new signatures poured in. Tennessee state Rep. Todd Warner has said he’ll introduce legislation backing the change, and singer Sheryl Crow has also voiced support, according to CBS News.
What other tributes are being planned?
Beyond the airport, Tennessee state Sen. Jessie Seal has introduced legislation to designate Sept. 25 as “9 to 5 Day,” referencing one of Parton’s best-known songs. Separately, President Trump ordered U.S. flags lowered nationwide to mourn Parton, according to Fox News. Parton’s family also gathered this week at her burial site in Nashville, where she is expected to be laid to rest beside her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, who died in March 2024. A funeral home, Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, posted an obituary calling her a “global icon and humanitarian” whose “rhinestone life” made people “feel like family.” Her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a video, saying she died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center after a “brief battle with cancer,” surrounded by loved ones. Her representatives said a small, private service was being held for immediate family at her request.
Would this be unusual for a U.S. airport?
No — several American airports already carry the names of entertainers, athletes and public figures. CBS News points to examples including Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, and the recently renamed Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida. Nashville’s airport already leans heavily into its country music identity, home to a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum outpost and live Grand Ole Opry performances, which supporters say makes a Parton renaming a natural fit.
Why this matters
Parton, born into poverty in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, built a career that crossed musical, generational and political lines, writing and performing hits like “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” while starring in films such as “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias.” Her death has set off a rapid, statewide push — spanning a governor’s proposal, pending state legislation, a mass petition and a new commemorative day — to formally attach her name and legacy to public institutions in the state she never stopped calling home.
Sources
Featured photo: 105th Observation Squadron via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)