BATON ROUGE — Flags in Louisiana will fly at half-staff on Thursday in honor of country music and philanthropic icon Dolly Parton, who died earlier this week at 80 years old.

Parton, known for songs like "9 to 5" and "Jolene" and film roles like "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Steel Magnolias," died on Tuesday. 

Gov. Jeff Landry, on Wednesday, signed an executive order to have flags flown at half-staff over the State Capitol and all state buildings from sunrise to sunset on Thursday. A similar order was made by President Donald Trump shortly after Parton's death.

"Louisiana is honored to hold a chapter in her historic career. It was in the City of Lake Charles she recorded her first single, 'Puppy Love,'" Landry said in a social media post announcing the order. "Dolly is an irreplaceable figure. America and Louisiana will always love her!"

Landry's order noted that, in 2025, the Louisiana branch of Parton's Imagination Library added seventeen parishes and ten local program partners. Since the Louisiana chapter was created in 2023, 62,075 Louisiana children were served through the program, with 419,000 books given to underprivileged kids. 

Parton's Louisiana legacy also includes her appearence as hairdresser Truvy Jones in the 1989 film "Steel Magnolias," which was filmed in Natchitoches. She even joined the Northwestern Marching Band during a football halftime performance and sang her Grammy-winning song "9 to 5." 

"The filming of 'Steel Magnolias' provided a major economic boost to Natchitoches during a period of economic hardship, and the film's enduring popularity continues to attract visitors and support the city's tourism industry," the executive order added.