MISSOULA, Mont. — The Indian summer brought near-record highs to the region is over and cold and snow are setting in across Montana and Wyoming, which is good news for a group of diehards.

The countdown to curling season is on.

The winter sport that’s wildly popular in the Great White North has been migrating south in recent years, and Missoula has been caught up in the curling craze.

In other places across the United States, curling becomes popular once every four years with the Winter Olympics. Here, it's year-round all the time.

At more than 200 members strong, the Missoula Curling Club is now the largest in Montana and the broader inland Northwest, said Lee Banville, who has served on the club’s board since its beginnings about 15 years ago.

If the Winter Olympics of years pas

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