GOP and Democratic officials in Nashville unite over renaming airport for Dolly Parton
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In Nashville, Tennessee, the Republican-dominated state government and Democrat-controlled city government are engaged in an ugly battle for control of the city’s airport.
But there’s one thing the two sides can agree on: Nashville International Airport should be renamed to honour Tennessee’s favourite daughter, Dolly Parton. The change would make Parton the first woman whose name adorns one of America’s 50 busiest airports.
Lydia Popovich, a Parton superfan who started a petition for the name change in 2025, said on Friday that Parton had gracefully batted down the idea of naming the airport after her, as she did with many other proposed honours during her lifetime. That includes a bill brought by Tennessee lawmakers in 2021 to place a statue of her on the Capitol grounds.
Parton asked lawmakers to withdraw the bill but expressed a hope that it might happen “somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after I’m gone if you still feel I deserve it.”
Effort to rename airport gained steam after Parton’s death
After Parton’s death two weeks ago, the airport naming idea seemingly caught fire, with Popovich’s petition reaching more than 175,000 signatures — not that the officials competing to run the airport needed the push.
At a meeting Friday of the state-controlled Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, a motion directing the airport CEO to begin the renaming process was unanimously approved by board members praising Parton to the heavens. Airport officials said the change could take a year or more and involves working with Parton’s estate to determine how they might split profits from merchandise sales, among other things.
Bipartisan agreement on name change is a departure
There are two Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authorities: one run by the state and the other controlled by the city, a bifurcated regulatory system that was created in 2023 amid a partisan dispute between the GOP-run state and the Democratic-run city. Who actually controls the airport has been in dispute ever since, with competing boards taking the reins only to be deposed as courts rule and are overturned.
Despite the acrimony, Nashville’s Democratic Mayor Freddie O’Connell and the competing, city-controlled Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority are also in support of the name change, according to O’Connell spokesman Alex Apple.
“The FAA’s going to get two votes from two boards, both in favour,” Apple said.
The situation is ironic, and it’s hard to imagine that Parton would approve.
Stuart McWhorter, a member of the state-controlled board and deputy to Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee, briefly mentioned the dispute at the Friday meeting. He suggested that in the spirit of Parton “we can get beyond the litigation and get back to working together.”
Supporter of name change: ‘She’s the best of Tennessee’
Born in poverty in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Parton became an icon whose popularity crossed generational, geographic and political boundaries. In addition to writing and recording hit songs such as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” she starred in Hollywood films including “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias.”
Popovich, who attended the Friday meeting and spoke in favour of the proposal, was in tears after the unanimous vote in favour.
“It’s been a really beautiful experience, especially as you’re grieving someone that was such a great loss,” she told The Associated Press. “She’s the best of Tennessee. She’s the best of the humans on the planet. She was this magical person that provided light and guidance to all of us.
“Unfortunately she’s left us, but now we get to celebrate her and get to tell the world how much Tennessee loved her.”
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Just keep Trump's dreckorations out of it.
It's obvious that almost everybody still feels she deserves it.
I can't speak for others but I certainly feel she deserves it.
Even a Canadian NT member living in China who was never a big fan of country music thinks she deserves it.
With rare exceptions I'm not a big fan of most country and western music. (Although I do love most Bluegrass Music. ..
).
That being said, there are really positive vibes I see from Dolly Parton. She's basically a really good person-- something that seems to be increasingly rare in so many celebrities now-a-days).
I don't know about that. I think there are quite a few who are very generous. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce gave away a lot of money at their wedding, and Taylor has been known for her generosity for years. Sandra Bullock regularly donates large amounts of money for relief after natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami. Jon Bon Jovi started a foundation that supports a restaurant where hungry people can get a free meal paid for by donations from more fortunate diners. Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley operate a free grocery store in Nashville, and regularly offer financial assistance for flood relief in the Ohio Valley (which was under a flood watch yesterday, and has been flooded multiple times this year).
Not to take away from Dolly's generosity, because it's legendary, and her reputation for it is well-deserved. But I think there are many generous celebs, and the fact that they exist helps me to stay hopeful regarding human nature.
My opinion re: various people's character is not focused primarly on money,
For starters: I have a very high opinion of some people who have not contributed large amounts of money to anyone . . .or to any cause.
That might sound a bit strange coming from someone like me (I believe I mentioned my current occupation: trader! (Stock market).
Just the way I was brought up I guess (the belief thaat there were much more important things in life than money).
It's not the money that is the focus. It's what they do with the money.
Dolly made good use of her money in helping people. The Imagination Library, for example. During the wildfires in Gatlinburg, she allowed displaced residents to stay at her resorts for free. She offers free tuition and books for all employees of Dollywood who choose to attend college.
There is no ignoring that money can do a lot of good in this world, if it is spent with good intentions.