Blunt signs bill offering $6 million in assistance for heating bills

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- More than $6 million in state money is available to help Missourians pay their winter utility costs.

The funding comes after Gov. Matt Blunt signed a bill in St. Louis Friday aimed at helping low-income residents cover rising energy costs.

The funding was approved earlier this month by the state legislature.

The money will supplement the federal dollars and be paid out through the state's energy assistance program, called Utilicare.

Blunt said Friday that the money should help roughly 10,000 Missouri residents.