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Long-lasting heart-shaped balloon in Capitol is ‘symbol of our fight’ for protest movement

The tens of thousands of protesters have left. The metal detectors are gone. But a small reminder of the massive demonstrations that rocked the state Capitol for weeks on end remains. A mysterious heart-shaped red balloon still floats inside the Capitol dome, where it has hovered high over the rotunda since mid-February. Some say it has been hovering atop the dome since Feb. 14, the day hundreds of protesting UW-Madison students and teaching assistants held a Valentine?s Day march along State Street before flooding the Capitol with “valentines” for the governor and signs reading, “Please don?t break our hearts.”