It is Friday. You know what that means.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 82 and a low of 57.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Meagan Frazier!

Today’s newsletter is 989 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Fans everywhere are coming together Friday to celebrate Dolly Parton, with Nashville, her home base during decades of superstardom, leading the way.

Why it matters: While court disputes over Parton's estate are prickling up, the cornerstones of her legacy — music, generosity and joy — are unshakable.

• Those tenets will be on full display in Nashville and around the world throughout the new "Dolly Day" holiday.

The big picture: Grief is giving way to something much more Parton-approved: expanded literacy programs and an international day of giving.

• The celebration falling on 9/25 also honors Parton's love of wordplay, paying homage to one of several signature songs: "9 to 5."

Zoom in: The massive effort to cement Dolly's legacy includes more than 145 special events, parties and fundraisers in Nashville, with more coming by the minute.

• Coffee shops and bars are launching special Dolly-themed menu items, many of them featuring her signature shades of pink.
• More than 30 local music venues will host performances of "9 to 5" at 5pm.
• A downtown fireworks show at 9:25pm will cap the celebration.

Follow the money: The list of businesses contributing to Parton's well-known causes is extensive.

• The Grand Ole Opry is giving $5 from each ticket sold for Friday's shows and tours to the Imagination Library.
• Hattie B's is donating one book for every qualifying entrée purchased at Tennessee locations outside of the airport.
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are sending all of the day's proceeds from their Friends in Low Places honky-tonk to the Nashville Public Library and Imagination Library.

State of play: The Give Like Dolly campaign overseen by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee drew applications from 555 nonprofits.

• Twenty were selected to share donations across four causes connected to Dolly's philanthropy: helping children succeed, helping people heal, assisting neighbors in need and opening doors through music and the arts.
• Participating nonprofits include Nashville CARES, Dismas House, Girls Write Nashville, Nashville Children's Theatre and the Country Music Hall of Fame's Words & Music program.

Zoom out: Nashville is the epicenter of the outpouring, but Parton's influence is already guiding an international movement.

• In Florida, Virginia and Ohio, Imagination Library affiliates have seen a surge in both donations and registrations since Parton's death on Aug. 25.
• In West Virginia, literacy nonprofit Read Aloud West Virginia is matching this month's donations to local Imagination Library affiliates when donors write "in memory of Dolly" with their contributions.
• In London, the Imagination Library is doubling the number of boroughs it covers.

Read more about Nashville's plans for Dolly Day

Share this story with your favorite Dolly fan

A Georgia congressman sent a letter to the top U.S. transportation official this week, expressing concerns about federal funding for Tennessee's I-24 toll lane project.

Why it matters: The toll lanes are supposed to bring in billions of dollars for Tennessee's transportation funding and help ease congestion on the busy I-24 corridor between Nashville and Rutherford County.

Driving the news: In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller questioned plans for the project to use a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan.

• Since its launch in 1998, the TIFIA program has approved $52 billion in federal assistance.
• The largest loan to date was nearly $4 billion for the State Route 400 project in Fuller's home state of Georgia.

What he's saying: In his letter, Fuller worries TDOT would borrow "in the excess of $10 billion" for the project, and expresses concern that such an amount "would crowd out other viable and important projects nationwide."

State of play: Tennessee awarded the toll project to a consortium of businesses called DriveTN.

• DriveTN committed $24.8 billion in promised payments to Tennessee compared to the next highest bid of $7.4 billion.
• DriveTN's bid included $9.2 billion in estimated construction costs.

Zoom in: In an interview with the Nashville Business Journal, TDOT Commissioner Will Reid confirmed state officials are talking to U.S. senators and federal officials about a loan that will reach "uncharted territory for projects this large."

Read the full story

A new billboard mocks U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles for losing his reelection bid. (Tennessean)

A federal judge denied a pro-immigrant group's bid to halt the partnership between ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. (Nashville Banner)

Top AI companies are hiring lobbyists in Tennessee. (Tennessee Lookout)

The final vocal recording of Dolly Parton's unparalleled career came on a U2 song, which will be released on the band's upcoming album.

U2 singer Bono told Rolling Stone he reached out to Parton to appear on a side project of Irish folk music. Parton turned him down, but shared a song of her own.

• The resulting track "Torn" will close out U2's new album "Carnaval De Luz," which releases Nov. 13.

What he's saying: "When she got ill, she got out of her bed to sing this song," Bono told Rolling Stone. "And you can hear that. And I can't even listen to it now."

It is Friday. You know what that means: the Friday News Quiz returns.

• Answer all three questions 100% correctly and we'll honor you in our Monday newsletter.

🚗 A new Waymo program allows what age group to hail rides?

🗳️ Organizers turned in enough signatures to put a referendum about which Metro property on the ballot next year?

🏗️ Which historic visitor attraction in Nashville is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation project?

Our picks:

Nate's song of the day is "Go Cubs Go" by Steve Goodman in honor of Pete Crow-Armstrong joining the 40/40 club yesterday.

Adam is expanding his collection of fuzzy sweaters as we inch — slowly — toward some chillier weather.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.