While it does go N/S, 35 spilts into two highways just south of the Twin Cities, basically one thru Minneapolis (35W) and one thru St. Paul (35E). It combines again on the north side on its way to Duluth. I was just poking fun with Steve.
Interesting. I've never seen an arrangement like that. Usually, if the highway splits, one of the parts gets a three-digit number, e.g. 135, 235, etc. Unless there was already a "beltway"-type bypass around the city, in which case it would be weird.