{"id":399,"date":"2026-08-27T15:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/?p=399"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:28:12","slug":"a-campaign-to-change-the-name-of-nashville-tennessee-%ef%be%a0%ef%be%a0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/?p=399","title":{"rendered":"A campaign to change the name of Nashville, Tennessee \u200c\u200b\ufeff\uffa0\u200b\uffa0"},"content":{"rendered":"

A campaign to rename Tennessee\u2019s Nashville International Airport after country music icon\u00a0Dolly Parton<\/a>\u00a0is quickly gaining momentum\u00a0following her death<\/a>\u00a0at age 80 on Tuesday, Aug. 25.<\/p>\n

A Change.org petition entitled \u201cRename Nashville International Airport to Dolly Parton International Airport<\/a>\u201d has gained over 100,000 additional signatures within 24 hours after Parton\u2019s nephew, Bryan Seaver,\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0her death to the public.<\/p>\n

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The campaign was first started by Tennessee residents Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion on Jan. 21, 2025. At the time, the petitioners requested the facility be renamed Dolly Parton International Airport \u201cto honor an icon who has given so much to our state and to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Signage for Nashville International Airport.<\/span>Getty <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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<\/b><\/b>Our new app is here!<\/b>\u00a0Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now!<\/div>\n

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Following the star\u2019s death after a \u201cbrief battle with cancer<\/a>,\u201d the campaign was \u201creinvigorated.\u201d As of the evening of Aug. 26, the petition has reached over 100,000 signatures.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSince her passing, tens of thousands of additional supporters have visited and signed this petition. The outpouring of support has reinvigorated our mission,\u201d Popovich and Dion wrote in a joint statement on Tuesday. \u201cDolly deserves to be remembered and celebrated. What a wonderful way to share her light and magic across Tennessee and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign even caught the attention of one of the \u201cJolene\u201d singer\u2019s collaborators.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople are talking about trying to get the Nashville airport, which I think is called BNA \u2014 I don\u2019t even know what it stands for \u2014 to change to the Dolly Parton airport. Which I\u2019m like, \u2018Yes! I think we should,\u2019 \u201d Nashville resident\u00a0Sheryl Crow<\/a>\u00a0said in an interview with\u00a0Katie Couric<\/a>, published on Change.org\u2019s official\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0Tuesday. Crow, 64, and\u00a0Emmylou Harris<\/a>\u00a0collaborated with Parton for her 2023 song \u201cYou\u2019re No Good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sheryl Crow and Dolly Parton attend the 37th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Nov. 5, 2022, in Los Angeles.<\/span>Kevin Mazur\/Getty <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The petition also garnered support from Republican Tennessee State Rep. Todd Warner, who wrote in the comments, \u201cYes, I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport!\u201d<\/p>\n

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In conversation with PEOPLE, Warner explains he filed legislation to rename Nashville\u2019s airport after\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0last year. However, he had \u201cso many people reach out\u201d and suggested the facility be renamed after a Tennessean. After his initial bill failed to pass in committee, Warner set his sights on another public figure.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDolly was so good to this state. She cared about people,\u201d Warner says. \u201cWhat she has done for this state economically, what she\u2019s done for country music\u2014 and she cared about children \u2026 Just a great person. We need more Dollys in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner.<\/span>AP Photo\/George Walker IV <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While it would cost the state to rebrand and update signage, Warner says Tennessee has the money to do it. He pointed to its $1.2 billion revenue surplus from the end of the last fiscal year, which was reported on by local outlet\u00a0WKRN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Dolly Parton\u2019s Legacy as a Travel Trailblazer: From Dollywood Resort to a One-of-a-Kind Truck Stop<\/div>\n
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All About Dolly Parton\u2019s Childhood Home: A 1-Bedroom Log Cabin Where the Music Legend Lived with 11 Siblings<\/div>\n
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\u201cI think it would pay a great tribute to Dolly and what she\u2019s done for the state and the country itself,\u201d Warner adds.<\/p>\n

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Russ Bradford, a Metropolitan Nashville Councilman, also supports the change, telling\u00a0Axios Nashville<\/a>\u00a0that he has already reached out to Airport Authority board members to pursue the rebranding. However, he noted that the final decision must come from the board and would need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.<\/p>\n

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Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nashville International Airport currently uses the airport code BNA, which stands for Berry Field Nashville Airport. The facility takes its name after World War I and World War II U.S. Army veteran Col. Harry Smith Berry, a Tennessee native who helped establish the airfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A campaign to rename Tennessee\u2019s Nashville International Airport after country music icon\u00a0Dolly Parton\u00a0is quickly gaining momentum\u00a0following her death\u00a0at age 80 on Tuesday, Aug. 25. A Change.org petition… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":401,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399\/revisions\/401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iliridanews.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}